


Slaughter House Four

by eshcaine



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Attempted Murder, Battle of the Bands, Benstina, Betrayal, Destiel - Freeform, Hit and Run Car Accident, M/M, Minor Character Death, Musicians, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Rock and Roll, Sabotage, Secret Identity, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:42:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 71,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eshcaine/pseuds/eshcaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slaughter House Four has made a small name for themselves touring little backwater clubs and bars across the Midwest. With Dean on lead guitar, Sam behind the keyboards, Rufus on bass and Benny powering the beat on his drums, their mix of original music coupled with well know covers has kept the band going for three or four years. But now events have pushed the Winchester brothers into a chance to grab fame and fortune, and to leave the life of cheap motels and back road venues behind.</p><p>Can they make it or will the competition be too much?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Funeral

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift, lovingly written for my awesome friend Christina. She as been amazingly supportive and encouraging to me...one of the best friends I have ever had. She cheers me on hourly sometimes in my writing and other creative projects, and she's been incredibly giving and wonderful. I love her to bits and I dedicate this work to her.

 

Lawrence, Kansas –

 

It didn’t seem right that today of all days would be sunny.

Dean squinted and frowned, his head held down half because of the glaring late spring Kansas sun, and half so that he didn’t make eye contact with anyone. He pinched his eyes shut, once, then once again. They stung and he knew it wasn’t just because of how stifled he felt in the black suit he was wearing.

Sam’s hand came up and to hold on to Dean’s upper arm, fingers digging into the fabric of Dean’s suit coat as if Dean was an anchor he needed to connect with. Instinctively, Dean’s opposing hand came up and clasped firm over Sam’s, holding it there. Dean gave a nod but didn’t look at his brother. He didn’t look anywhere except down at his polished shoes standing in the grass. It struck him how the smooth dark shine of the toes of his shoes contrasted with the cheerful textured green of the grass blades, and it occurred to him there may be a metaphor in there some where about life and death, living and dying…. But he was too mentally wiped out right now to care.

The minister had stopped talking and the creaking strained sounds of the mechanisms to lower the coffin into the grave took over. Someone near Dean nudged his elbow and placed a folded flag into his free hand. Dean gored his fingers into the cloth, squeezing hard. Had someone tried to give this to him earlier? He didn’t know. The fabric of it felt strange to his touch as if it wasn’t part of his reality.

Dean pressed his chin against his chest harder and didn’t hear anything anymore. The white noise that had been building in his ears took over now and fuzzed everything else out. Soon Sam was tugging on him with that grip he still had on Dean’s arm, getting him to move. With sluggish feet Dean let himself be guided away and after walking for a bit they stopped.

A cool breeze kicked up and buffeted around Dean’s head. It was soothing and refreshing and in such contrast to what was heaving in Dean’s chest it almost startled him. He lifted his face to feel it more and realized they were no longer standing beside the grave.

 

John Winchester’s grave.

 

Sam was looking away, leaning his head forward to catch the breeze coming to them as well. It fluttered through his mop of hair and seemed to ease out the tension in his face. Beside him, Bobby Singer stood stoic just looking back the way they had come, hands shoved into his pant’s pockets. Dean saw they were up on the small bluff at the edge of the cemetery looking out over the rolling Kansas hills beyond.

“We’ll hafta get back to the house sooner or later. Ellen’ll have a fit if we aren’t there when all these people start arriving.” Bobby gruffed out. Dean surmised that it had been Bobby to pull he and his brother away from the funeral to give them some space. Dean also knew Bobby’s wife Ellen was back at John’s house setting things up for the rest of the mourners to come back from the gravesite.

“Wish we could just stay here.” Dean sighed out.

“It won’t be that bad. Half your Dad’s old buddies from Capitol records are here and they’re a boisterous lot even at funerals. Andy Summers sent flowers and Eric called earlier this morning so I don’t doubt that the phone will be ringing more as the afternoon wears on. There will probably be more industry people showing up…..we’ll have to keep the pot smokers in your Dad’s studio though…” Bobby let out a half chuckle.

“Eric?” Sam queried.

“Clapton.” Bobby said flatly.

“Clapton?!” Sam blinked in astonishment, “I didn’t know he knew Dad….”

“Dad did a session once as a favor….remember when we were out in Los Angeles when you were little Sammy? Dad was out there doing backing guitar working for Isaac and Tamara on some movie soundtrack…..” Dean looked at his brother then, “Clapton was down the hall and one of his session guitarists didn’t show. Dad spent the day in the studio with him.” Dean nodded, “Nice that he remembered Dad.”

“Your Dad was a stubborn SOB, but when it came down to it, he came through for a lot of people….” Bobby let his words die off, not ending it with ‘when he wasn’t obsessing about losing your mother’.

Dean turned around and looked back to the gravesite. The turn out was fairly large. Some of John’s musician friends and industry contacts had come from Los Angeles, New York and London. Even some of the old Grateful Dead crowd had wandered in to pay their respects. Dean watched as the mourners began to disperse and make their way to their vehicles.

“C’mon. Let’s get a move on.” Bobby began walking back down the slope towards his car.

“Hey Dean?” Sam tugged on Dean’s shoulder gently.

Dean turned to finally meet his little brother’s eyes. Sam’s usually twinkling hazel gaze was weighed down and watery. The rims were red and Dean could see Sam had been pushing the tears away roughly. There were burnished rough marks against the high points of his cheeks.

“I just…we aren’t gonna sell Dad’s house are we?” Sam raised his brows with a worried look.

“Hope not. We’ll know after we meet with the lawyers. But Sam, if we gotta….” Dean took hold of Sam’s arm and clasped it firm, “Wouldn’t be the first time we were without a home base right?”

“Right.” Sam nodded. Dean released his hold. They fist bumped and then gently punched each other’s shoulder. They turned together and made their way down to Bobby’s car.

 

 

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

John Winchester had been a Marine and had been up to his neck in sand, blood and fire during ‘Operation: Desert Storm’ during the Gulf War. When he came back home, he took up his life long love of the guitar and began looking for work. His goal was to someday have his own band.

Life didn’t lead him down that path. After playing with several groups and doing a few solo gigs, he was asked to play backing guitar for a singer in Kansas City. From there he met other session musicians and began getting hired for other jobs, other gigs. The work became steady and he was grateful, but deep down he never let go of his dream of being in the spotlight.

On a trip back home to Lawrence, he met Mary Campbell and it had been instant head over heels love for both of them. John found work as a music teacher at a local school. They bought a little house. Then they had Dean, then Sam. And life had been good.

But John never stopped dreaming of the spotlight and when Mary was killed, it became his obsession.

 

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Dean hovered in the kitchen, picking random bites of hor d'oeuvres off platters and dodging Ellen’s gentle scolding swats. She and Bobby were putting out the second round of food for the guests and Dean was doing his best to hide in the kitchen, be a nuisance and not socialize with the rest of the people in the house. Finally Ellen placed a tray of small sandwiches in Dean’s hands and ordered him to take it out into the other room. Reluctantly Dean went.

He passed by three men he knew were from his Dad’s days touring with a lesser known progressive rock band when their guitarist had to bow out because of an injury. He knew the group of people crowded by the front door were all from Los Angeles and worked for various record companies. He knew the woman in the dour power suit talking on her cell phone in the corner of the living room worked for Virgin Records. And he knew the group of men laughing and trading stories with Sam in the hall leading to his Dad’s small in house studio were all session musicians working in different jobs throughout the industry.

And all had offered he and Sam jobs doing what John had done.

But Dean had turned them all down flat. He was determined to do what John had not. Carve his own space in rock and roll history with his own music on his own terms.

Dean set the tray of sandwiches down on the coffee table in the living room and snatched one from the top of the selection. He stuffed half of it in his mouth and gave the woman from Virgin Records a chipmunk cheeked smile before wandering away.

He was halfway back to the kitchen and hoping he could sneak off to the backyard with a beer when someone slapped their hand on Dean’s shoulder. It was Ash, a guy John had met sometime in the late 90’s when John was in and out of LA laying down tracks for music for commercials. Ash had graduated from MIT in computer sciences, but somewhere between graduation and working for NASA, Ash had caught the sound engineering bug. He had packed off for LA and never looked back. It was said that he could set up a sound system so perfectly that the entire room became a sweet spot, and that any music recording he engineered had god-like sound quality. Ash dressed as if he were perpetually stranded in the late 1980s with his mullet and his sleeveless shirts, though for John’s funeral Ash had actually worn a suit jacket over his Metallica t-shirt.

“Dude….” Ash somehow materialized two PBR bottles from inside his jacket and handed Dean one, “You and Sam, you still have your band?” Ash popped the cap from his beer and clinked the base of the bottle against Dean’s.

“Course we do.” Dean opened his bottle. PBR wasn’t his usual thing but he also wasn’t going to turn down a cold bottle of beer when it was handed to him. Plus it saved him a trip to the kitchen and a glare from Ellen.

“So you know about the thing in Chicago right?” Ash waggled his brows.

“Enlighten me.” Dean took a swig from his beer as Ash pulled him out through the front door and into the front yard.

“Battle of the bands. Really big deal. Any band from the Midwest can compete as long as you make it through the auditions in St. Louis…” Ash nudged Dean’s arm with his bottle, “I can get you into the audition.” He grinned, nodded and took a pull off his own beer.

“When?” Dean looked skeptical.

“End of May. Memorial Day weekend. I’m working the sound.” Ash grinned again.

“The venue?” Dean rolled the beer bottle in his hands slowly.

“The Ninth Circle. Usually it’s this insane Goth bar owned by this guy named Crowley, but it’s being rented out for this event specifically. The acoustics are a little bonked because it’s in a historical building down near the river, but it’s do-able.” Ash lifted his chin and a slow wide smile spread over his face.  “This could be it man, your ticket to fame and stardom. _Hasta la vista_ , baby to obscurity.”

“Who’s running the competition?” Dean’s brows furrowed a bit. Depending on the label fronting the competition, it could be the deal breaker for he and Sam.

“Free Will Records.” Ash couldn’t contain his mirth and gave Dean a light punch on the shoulder.

Dean nearly dropped his bottle, “Tell me you aren’t joking.”

“Serious as a heart attack mi amigo.” Ash beamed.

Dean took a step back and ran his fingers up through his honey blond hair. He took a long slow breath to calm himself a moment and then another one just to be sure. As he was standing there, Sam came walking out of the house and approached Dean and Ash. He casually took Dean’s beer away from him and drank a long gulp from it but didn’t pass it back to Dean.

“Tell Sam. Tell him.” Ash was nearly giddy.

“Tell me what?” Sam cocked his head and looked to his brother. Sam had ditched his suit jacket and his tie, and had the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his forearms.

Dean’s eyes snapped up and they were nearly glowing with excitement, “Free Will Records….the best indy label in the world is having a battle of the bands contest….”

“Grand prize is a two year recording contract and…” Ash leaned back in satisfaction as if he was personally responsible for this, “….you get to perform at Glastonbury next summer.”

“Glastonbury!?” Sam choked out around the beer bottle and Dean snatched it back out of his brother’s hands, “Glastonbury….England.” Sam shot a look to Dean, “We are so ready for this Dean. Benny has reworked the arrangement for the new song….”

“Yea but Rufus….” Dean rubbed the back of his neck.

“Rufus will suck it up and deal. Or he’ll finally get out and go play jazz the way he keeps crying about doing and we’ll find a new bass player. Dean….” Sam sad earnestly, “Dean! We have to do this. We have to try.”

Dean stood still for a long moment and looked at his brother. Then he looked at John’s house full of John’s past life and John’s friends mourning his passing. John had wanted a chance like this and never got it. John would want him to do this. To take the risk, make the leap, fight to win. To reach for the one thing John couldn’t reach himself. Dean drew in a long shivering breath and realized his cheek was wet. A single line of a tear was rolling down his face and he brought one hand up to scrub it into his skin.

Dean nodded. “Okay. We’ll do it.”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	2. 1965 Hagstrom Impala Electric Guitar

 

Lawrence, Kansas –

 

Kevin Tran, Advanced Placement.

Of course that was high school. Currently Kevin was a freshman at Kansas University. Right this moment however, Kevin was standing in a halo of light from a skylight overhead with faint dust motes floating around him dreamily. In his hands he gripped the microphone stand, hand wrapped over hand, elbows pressed down, his body bent up almost in holy supplication with his knees pushed together. He rocked his body and the mic in rhythm with the music that was pouring out loud around him, and he nudged his mouth open in a perfect rock god snarl.

 “So he started rockin', ain't never gonna stop  
Gotta keep on rockin', someday gonna make it to the top…..” 

Kevin continued to belt out, his mouth curling against the mic as his eyes squeezed shut.

“And be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes, he's a juke box hero  
He took one guitar, juke box hero, stars in his eyes  
Juke box hero…..stars in his eyes…..He'll come alive tonight….!!!”

Kevin threw his head back and shoved one hand high over his head, then curled his body back down as his hip and foot tapped out to the beat.

“In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour  
Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door  
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain  
And that one guitar, made his whole life change  
Now he needs to keep on rockin', he just can't stop  
Gotta keep on rockin', that boy has got to stay on top…..”

Somewhere in the last stanza of lyrics Kevin abandoned the mic to throw himself into an all out thrashing bouncing air guitar performance, jumping and tossing his shining black hair about with fervor.

He was so into his revelry that he hadn’t seen Dean walk into the area. Kevin whipped around in a final burst of movement to end out the song. It dropped him toe to toe with an unamused Dean Winchester.

“Oh, hey Dean….” Kevin half laughed out nervously and backed away.

Dean raised one eyebrow and looked down at Kevin. He and Sam had met the college student at a local music store right after the kid had graduated from high school. Kevin was posting offers to give cello lessons on the community board there when he and Sam had struck up a conversation. The next thing Dean knew Sam had hired the kid as their sound engineer for their gigs. A year later and Kevin was a permanent fixture at all their rehearsal sessions. Usually, like today, Kevin arrived before everyone to prime the amplifiers and do any basic cleaning the area required. There was usually a fair amount of dust and dirt as their rehearsal space was a large barn like shed on Bobby Singer’s Auto Salvage yard property.

“You’re, um, here early today.” Kevin looked a mix of complete embarrassment and utter terror at being discovered lip-syncing and air guitar-ing along to the Foreigner song.

Dean hefted his guitar case once and softened his expression. Despite being originally annoyed with Kevin in general when they first met, the kid had grown on him. “Yea. I have a big announcement to make to everyone and I kinda wanted to be here before they arrived.” Dean made his way over to one of the amp stacks, hoisted the guitar case up and placed it reverently down.

Kevin followed, eyeing the case. It was older, and square. Not molded to the usual guitar shape and Kevin instantly recognized it as an older vintage case. It wasn’t Dean’s regular guitar. Kevin eyed Dean and said nothing, just held still and waited.

Carefully, as if touched incorrectly the case would explode, Dean clicked open the latches on the side of the case. Then with gentle fingers, he lifted the lid. Inside rested an older electric guitar. The area beneath the pick-ups and the bridge were a lighter reddish amber shade, and the neck was a dark natural wood.  The chrome seating held several toggle buttons in different colors and the plated panel with the volume shift was black as the night. The tremolo arm sprouted from the bridge off of a single screw bolt. The rest of the guitar was a deep ox blood red hue, rich and dark and wicked looking. Dean cradled his hands around it and brought it out of the case.

“1965 Hagstrom Impala.” Dean’s eyes roamed over it with hunger and awe, “The first guitar my Dad bought when he came back from the Gulf War. He found it at some music store in Texas, fixed it up, used it for years.”

Kevin’s eyes darted back and forth between Dean and the vintage guitar. “You…you’re gonna play it?”

“That’s what it was made for….” Dean chuckled, then set it back into the case. He pulled a new strap from his back pocket and began to attach it to the guitar. The strap was polished black leather with bright chrome accents at the ends. Simple and understated beyond the slight shine.

“Must be serious if you’re getting’ John’s old baby out….” A deep but smooth voice came from behind Dean and Kevin. It was rich but soft as sand and it held a playful quality to it. The man it belonged to was a mix of textures as well. Tall as Dean was,  burly with dense muscle tone with calloused hands from playing the drums for years. He had a scruff of a beard along his chin and jaw that was reddish peppered with blond and amber. His eyes were steely blue and danced with a bright light.

“Hey Benny” Dean slung the strap over his head and situated the guitar across his body before looking up and smiling at his old friend. Dean had met Benny three years ago when Dean had taken a job at one of the factories in town. They had bonded on the line, working long brutal hours in the machine shop repairing the factory line mechanisms. It had been one late night after a twelve-hour shift that Dean had discovered Benny’s stellar ability on the drums when the bar’s band left their gear unattended on stage. Benny had eased himself sitting behind the kit and then blew Dean away with his fluid skills. Benny had whistled ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ while drumming his own accompaniment and it had left the bar denizens on their feet hooting and clapping.  Dean made sure Benny was there for rehearsal with he and Sam two days later.

Benny flicked his gaze from the guitar to Dean, smiled a slow half smile and then moved to take his place on the seat behind his kit. He pulled some tape from his pocket and began to wrap his fingers.

Kevin was in a flurry now, behind the amplifiers on his laptop. He was muttering about reconfiguring the input and out-put ratios, and about OHMs. Dean figured configuring the new guitar into their set up would probably keep Kevin busy for the rest of the night and he just gave the kid a chuckle. “How long before you want to do a sound check Kevin?”

“Gimme…..” Kevin typed furiously, then seemed to recheck several things on his laptop screen, “Gimme….fifteen minutes okay?”

Dean nodded and just ran one finger down along the curve of the base of the guitar. It had a much different feel than his usual Fender, as it carried a subtle weight that felt energizing somehow.  As if its solid well crafted form was ready to take on any challenge, weather any hardship, and withstand punishment. He remembered John pulling this out for special concerts when he was backing band for live vocalists. He also remembered how much his mother Mary loved how John looked with it slung across his hip. Dean let those good memories flow over him and buoy him up. He was so lost in them that he didn’t see Sam and their last band member and their other roadie walk in.

Sam merely slipped up alongside Dean and bumped elbows with him gently. Dean glanced up to his little brother and they both looked down at the guitar. Sam gave a knowing smile, and quick nod of approval and then one more nudge. He moved away from Dean and took his place behind his ever-growing keyboard rig.

Sam’s tiers of gear included several thousands of dollars worth of plug-ins, keyboard receptors and controllers and signal generators. It had two massive keyboards, a powerbook Mac, and even a retrofitted old oscilloscope. These were all routed together into one massive unit that Sam lovingly called his “his powerhouse”. It was a testament to his long arms that he barely had to move to reach each and every part of it.

The other two men arriving were the band’s bass player, Rufus Turner and Garth Fitzgerald their all around roadie. Garth looked like a hot breeze could blow him over, but in truth the guy was as tough and wiry as a garrote; flexible, strong and he was able to haul gear with surprising ease. He also had a handy knack of charming the pants off the most sullen venue manager which had come in handy more than once in their treks across the Midwest to various gigs. Dean and Benny had met Garth at the factory as well. Now Garth and Benny worked for a local construction contractor building and refurbishing homes.

It was Rufus who was sort of the odd man out. Rufus was a jazz musician who had his degree in music theory and taught at KU. He had been friends with John for several years before Dean had sweet talked the man into playing bass guitar for their band. At first Rufus had been on board, excited about making some extra cash on the side from their small tours around the Midwest. But over the last year Rufus had started to become discontented with the travel, the cheap motel rooms and the small venues. Add in his growing desire to play more jazz and less rock, and Dean was never sure if the next time he saw Rufus, Rufus was going to quit.

They were all there now, settling in for their usual Thursday night rehearsal. Sam behind his array of technology, Benny behind his Ludwig black Vistalite kit, Rufus with his Fender Squire cradled against his chest, Kevin on his laptop and Garth perched on the edge of one of the speakers.

Dean stepped up to his mic as usual but then rolled into a turn on his heel to face them. He cleared his throat and clasped his hands in front of him over his guitar.

“So I have an announcement tonight before we get started, because I think it will probably change our rehearsals for a while…..maybe….” Dean gave a slight duck to his head as if acquiescing that what he was about to say might be rejected by the rest of the band. “Sam and I found out about a big competition…a battle of the bands…in Chicago. Free Will Records is hosting it, and the winners get a two year recording contract and a spot playing live at Glastonbury Festival next year….”

At the mention of Glastonbury, both Garth and Kevin exchanged curious looks. Benny, gave no reaction at all beyond his usual calm demeanor while Rufus half frowned with curiosity.

“The Chicago competition is at the end of the summer, Labor Day Weekend at this venue called Valhalla near the Loop. But before we can get there, we have to go through the preview auditions in St Louis over Memorial Day Weekend….” Dean gave them all a moment to process that info and then continued, “That is happening at The Ninth Circle and if we don’t impress there, Chicago is out.”

Dean settled back, resting his weight on one foot and hip while the other pointed out and away, exaggerating the look of the curve of his legs, “Rufus, how do you feel about doing this?”

Rufus looked down at his hands a moment in silent thought, then he looked up at each of the other band members one at a time as if gauging their reactions. Finally he spoke, “I’ll be honest with you Dean, I’m not feeling the rock vibe like I used to. Just not as into it anymore and you all know this. I’ve been upfront about it.”

Dean nodded. “We know, and we respect you for it Rufus. We get where your passion lies.”

Rufus held up one hand passively, “But there is no way you boys would be able to work in another bassist in three short weeks. So I’m in. I’ll go with you to St. Louis and to Chicago if we make it that far. But after Chicago I’m out. Is that cool with you all?”

Sam spoke up, “Very cool. And thank you Rufus, it means a lot.”

Rufus just huffed, “Don’t thank me yet kid.”

Dean turned his eyes to Benny, “How about you Benny?”

Benny’s reply was a wide smile and one simple nod. He twirled one drum stick in his hand and let his foot hover over the bass drum pedal like he had an itch and that was the only way to scratch it.

Dean shook his head with a grin for Benny and looked to Garth. “Garth?”

“So if we make it to Glastonbury, are me an’ Kev coming too?” Garth nailed Dean with a very serious and vaguely intimidating stare. “I mean, we’re gonna work just as hard as you guys to win this thing, and we don’t want to be left behind when the party is getting started.”

Sam looked at Dean with an expression that said openly he felt their concerns were valid. Dean got a shrug from Rufus and a supportive nod from Benny. Dean looked down to his boot a moment, then back to Garth and to Kevin.

“If the record company doesn’t foot the trip for you guys, we’ll work something out on our own. We’ve had fundraisers in the past to get amps and speakers and travel money for gigs…. I’m sure we can figure something out.” Dean replied honestly, and kept his eyes level as he said it.

“Alright, cool. Kev are we in?” Garth asked without looking at Kevin.

“We’re in.” Kevin called out, his own eyes back on his laptop screen.

“Okay then. We’re doing this.” Dean reached over and took hold of the jack that went into his output plug on his guitar, John’s old baby. With deft finality he clicked the jack in tight.

“Let’s get to work.”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	3. Bad Moon Rising

 

 

Tulsa, Oklahoma –

 

Multiple coloured hues swung around and bathed the stage in a flickering rainbow of light. They swiveled around once, then twice, then a third time as a big pounding beat came over the bar’s large sound system. The beat sped up then dropped out for a moment before slamming back in with cymbal accents. The lights hovered, then swung all around in time with the beat. Four measures in and a thin eerie sounding synth line came trembling over the beat, it’s reedy call a stark contrast to the lower rumbling drums. And then it all broke apart again as a long hard aggressive guitar cord sang out once, then everything fell into rhythm as the guitar picked out the chorus melody before pushing into the rest of the song. Dean’s voice rang out husky but sweet and the main lights swelled up to bathe the band in a wash of gold.

_“I roamed the road, a lonely kind of sting_   
_Ghost of a dark night, haunting everything…  
_

_Hey tell me baby, tell me all your endless secrets_   
_I’ll lick them down, swallow them hard…. no regrets…._

_So hold me now…..but we’ll never learn_   
_It’s all about to salt and burn…..”_

Dean wailed against the microphone, his guitar slung low against his hips, fingers moving in smooth perfect motions across the strings. To his left, Sam’s shaggy mane of brown hair was flopped over his face, his hands firm and defined over the keyboard as his piano strains echoed and trilled with the melody. To Dean’s right, Rufus nodded, the bass backing everything, keeping the song anchored but moody. And behind Dean, Benny rolled and popped the drums like an aroused heartbeat.

The crowd tonight was a good one. They were at some honky tonk, hired to open for a locally popular country rock band but the crowd was in a party mood and they had welcomed Slaughter House Four with cheers and shouts. Already there were a cluster of people bunched at the edge of the stage, girls in cowboy hats and guys in roper boots. They smiled up at Dean and clapped their hands and got into it.

The band picked up the pace as they came off their original song, and went into a cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive” and the crowd ate it up, singing the lyrics back in full force. They pulled out of that and went right into another original song that Benny had written called ‘Fangs and Kisses’ that had him crooning out the words in his whiskey soaked drawl.

As the chorus for it came around again, Dean dropped to his knees at the edge of the stage. He flicked out his tongue around a beaming smile, pumped his hips in a lewd display and egged on a group of girls that had been waving and winking at him. He leaned back as he went into the guitar solo and the girls all reached out to stroke, squeeze and grope along his thighs. The Impala guitar gleamed slick like sex under the lights as it ground out a blistering cadence. At the end of the solo Dean grinned and winked at the girls before he slid up to his feet as if gravity didn’t own him. After that, the crowd was putty in the band’s hands.

They ended their set with another cover, AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ and by the time they were off the stage, they were all soaked in sweat. Garth, Kevin, Benny and Sam made short work of stowing their gear in their vans while Rufus and Dean made their way to find the night manager to get paid.

Soon the regular band was belting out Creedance Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and Slaughterhouse Four were all lined up along the bar ready to enjoy the rest of their night. It wasn’t long before Rufus and Benny were tucked back and relaxed on their stools, Sam and Kevin were pulled out to the dance floor by some of the cowgirls and Garth was front and center on the dance floor in front of the stage just rocking out to the music.

Dean was beginning to feel like a kid in a candy store. All the girls that had flirted with him when he was on stage had come to talk to him. Some had lingered and then others came by, then some left and others returned. It was like the changing of the guard how they rotated and revolved around Dean. And his 2,000-watt smile reflected how much fun he was having. He mildly flirted back, enjoying the attention but mainly he used it to talk up the band and promote their music.

Eventually one statuesque red head kept leaning in to coo things in Dean’s ear about how wonderful their original music was. She boldly slid one hand up along his chest and purred about his talented fingers and his pretty green eyes.

“Enjoyed the set tonight then huh?” Dean tossed her a roguish grin but kept his arms draped against the edge of the bar and his hands to himself.

“You have no idea sugar.” She leaned in to flick her tongue lightly against Dean’s jaw. “It was a really enlightening experience.”

Dean swallowed once, eyeing her more seriously now that she was being so forward. And there was something else, an undercurrent to the tone of her voice that set the back of Dean’s neck on edge. “You like live music then?”

“It’s my whole world baby…..and now that I’ve heard you play….” She beamed a lush smile at him. But no sooner had it bloomed on her red lips, it was gone. Replaced with a cold regal gaze that left Dean’s stomach feeling queasy. “Now that WE have heard you play….” She gestured to the remaining ladies surrounding him and he realized they were all dressed in sleek black sophisticated clubwear, quite unlike the rest of the honky tonk’s patrons. “We know we have nothing to worry about in St. Louis. We are going to eat you boys alive. You don’t stand a chance against us……sugar.”

The redhead bent to ruff out a playful but menacing nip at Dean’s jaw, then she and the other women strolled away. Dean turned around fast and yelled for the bartender. Once he had her attention, he pointed to the group of women that had just been with him but were now sizing up the people on the dance floor.

“Hey, hey….” Dean felt out of breath, “Do you know who they are?”

The bartender nodded and gave Dean a friendly but detached smile, “Yea sure, those ladies are ‘Perdition’.” She nodded as if that explained everything and then she moved down to refill someone’s drink.

Dean sat down hard on his barstool. He had heard of a mostly all girl band called Perdition. They played goth rock and industrial with classical sounding instrumentation worked in. Their front woman was Josie Sands had a wicked vocal range and an onstage presence that was commanding. He also heard that the lone man in the group went by the name of Lucifer and that he played an electric violin. He had also heard that this group had been turning up on the music blog sites a lot over the last six months and were incredibly popular on college campuses.

Dean pushed away from the bar and tugged Benny’s sleeve as he walked past. Benny fell in behind him and they pulled Rufus along after them. Dean worked his way through the dance floor crowd and grabbed Garth, while Benny rounded up Kevin. However, Sam was nowhere to be found.

They cased the bar, noting that the ladies from Perdition had left. But Sam was no where to be seen inside the bar and Dean’s agitation went from annoyed to outright worried.

As Dean dragged the band out to their vans outside, they found Sam wandering back from around the front outside of the venue. Sam was still more than fifteen feet from the vans when Dean turned on him, his face broiling.

“Where were you?!” Dean barked, letting his agitation at being ambushed by Josie out on his brother.

“What?” Sam shrugged and scowled back, “I was walking a girl to her car.”

“For the love of….” Dean hissed out. He turned roughly and kicked hard at the tire of the van, “FUCK!”

“What happened in there Dean?” Rufus voice came low and calm .

“One of the other bands that will be at the St Louis audition next weekend…they were in there.” Dean growled out. “Scoping us out. Checking to see what level of a threat we were to them.”

“Who was it?” “And what did they say?” “No seriously?!” all tumbled out of various mouths around Dean at once.

“Hold on….”Sam held up one hand to quiet everyone, “Dean…?”

“It was Perdition. That goth rock band….” Dean let out a pissed off sigh and sank his fists against his hips. “The lead singer, Josie Sands, she played like she was coming on to me before she told me who she was…and THEN she told me she didn’t think we were any kind of threat to them.”

“Perdition. Yea. I heard of ‘em” Benny brought one hand up to stroke at his beard a little. “One of the guys on the job we are working at now listens to their stuff.”

Dean looked over at Benny and raised one eyebrow at him, “So you’ve heard their music?”

“Yea.” Benny dropped his hand and didn’t say anymore, but the look in his eyes said that maybe Slaughterhouse had something to worry about.

“How good are they?” Dean braced himself.

“Good. Solid musicianship. Solid song writing. Her voice is unique and powerful. Their violinist can play circles around the devil…..” Benny spoke honestly.

“I heard the Devil _was_ their violinist.” Kevin said sourly. “Couple of the people in my study group are way into them.”

“Awesome.” Dean said, though nothing about the tone of his voice was in fact awesome.

Sam rested his hands on his hips almost mirroring Dean, but where Dean’s body language was tense and on edge, Sam’s was relaxed and at ease. “No actually it is awesome.”

“How do you figure that boy?” Rufus frowned.

“So get this….” Sam’s face began to light up, “We didn’t have any idea who the other bands were going to be. We were going to walk in there blind. Now we know at least one of them. We can take tomorrow and research up on who they are, how they present themselves, who does their management…the works.”

“Sam’s right. This will actually work in our favor. Plus, if they think we can’t bring it, they may get cocky and sloppy.” Garth said solemnly.

“There is something else….and I didn’t think anything of it at the time but…”Kevin turned to look directly at Dean, “I think their violinist was inside tonight too.”

“What makes you think he was there?” Sam quirked an eyebrow.

“So when all those girls were swarming around Dean at the bar, there was this one guy in the back that was just staring at Dean with this laser glare. I thought maybe it was just some poor dude who was jealous of all the chicks falling over Dean but now that I know the Perdition girls were there….well… if it was their violinist it would explain the looks he was giving Dean.” Kevin shrugged and shoved his hands deep into his pant’s pockets.

“Maybe we should call Ash and see if we can get info on some of the other bands that will be there?” Rufus asked.

“Nah, tried that already. Ash doesn’t know.” Dean leaned against the side of the van and let his body sag a little. “That was one of the first things I thought to do.”

“Not relevant really.” Garth spoke up again, “Look, knowing one of the bands is helpful sure. What we need to do is polish up the look we have on stage. We have the skills, we have the talent, we have the charisma. But no offense, you guys still look a little ragtag up there.”

Kevin nodded in agreement, “Yea, I mean the headlining band after us….at least their shirts all matched and their pants were all the same color. But look….Sam in jeans and plaid, Benny’s in trousers and a button down shirt, Dean’s just in jeans and a t-shirt…one with a hole in it in the back to boot…... At least Rufus wears a necktie. You guys look too ‘garage band’ still.” Kevin went so far as to hover his fingers up to make air quotes around the word ‘garage band’.

“Then what do you suggest Mr. Advanced Placement?” Dean smirked.

“You guys need a look. You know, like…. well….. remember how George Martin or Brian Epstein made the Beatles cut their hair and wear the suits…..??” Kevin nodded slowly as he spoke.

Dean’s face brightened. He got up away from the van and everyone could see the gears turning in his head from the look in his eyes. “Okay. Okay…..” He took a long breath. “Here’s what I want us to do….tomorrow…Sam, Kevin and Garth….you guys get on doing research about ‘Perdition’. Benny, Rufus and I will work on how we present ourselves. We’ll look into some kind of makeover or new clothes to bring some unity to us on stage. Okay?”

There were affirmative nods all around in agreement.

“Okay….now….” Dean smiled tiredly, “Let’s get out of here and go home.”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	4. 1977 Rickenbacker 4001 Stereo Bass

 

 

Chicago, Illinois

 

The rooftop deck wasn’t exactly on the roof, but it was close enough. The multi-tiered wood construct started at the back stair well behind the top floor apartment as an extension of the landing. From there it had a half flight of steps up to another smaller landing that lead to yet another half flight of steps up to the main deck. That part sat just above the eaves of the roof and wrapped semi around the corner of the brownstone. From this top deck area, one could see the skyline of downtown Chicago and the Loop, stately and iconic buildings rising up like proud gods into the sky. At night with the lights of the city shining boldly, the view was breath taking.

Castiel Garrison sat up there now, his feet folded “Indian” style in front of him. The late spring night air was still cool and he had wrapped himself in a bulky blue sweater. He was hunched over, curled around his bass guitar, his fingers plucking and strumming over the taught bass strings. The bass was plugged into an amp, but the amp external speaker was muted and Castiel had channeled the sound through large padded professional headphones that now cupped around his head and over his ears. His deep blue eyes were half open and dreamy, unseeing as he was lost inside his head listening to himself play. Occasionally he would rock back and forth slightly, or bob his head, but for the most part he was still. Focused with a pure intensity on the music only.

He had been sitting there for three hours, completely unaware of the world around him. There was only the bass, his fingers and his sense of what was pouring through his ears as his reality.

Until there was a gentle tap on his shoulder that pulled him back out of his fugue, and back into the waking world.

Castiel stopped playing, stretched his fingers once, then reach up to slide the headphones away from his ears. He pulled them free from his head and placed them on the deck beside his hip before looking to his other side.

Gabriel was crouched there, a look of bemusement on his face. Gabriel Garrison, middle son among a huge religious family, and an older brother to Castiel. The Garrison children had been raised in a stern family who prized musical acumen above all, and each child had been given strict and intense training in numerous instruments. Music theory had been the topic at dinner ever night, and the over all expectation was that each child would be part of the family music ensemble in their adulthood. Gabriel however had dropped out of college and then seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth only to reappear five years later healthy and happy. He had traded his trumpet and French horn for a set of Technics turntables, a Rane mixer and the life of a nightclub disc jockey. Wildly successful due to his playful personality and his mind blowing scratching tricks, Gabriel’s career rocketed skyward. Now not only did he own his own club, the popular ‘Valhalla’ in Chicago, but he also played big-ticket clubs and venues all over the world.

Because of this success, Gabriel kept a modest two-story brownstone apartment in Chicago, a flat in London and a glittering penthouse in Tokyo. The current roof deck Castiel and he were on was part of the brownstone apartment. Gabriel’s first real home that he kept mainly for sentimental value. It was also his sanctuary. That he allowed Cas to come and stay with him was a balm and a blessing.

Gabriel smiled at his younger brother; secretly loving that Castiel had come here instead of going back to the large Garrison family home in Lake Forest, north of Chicago. “Hungry?”

“No, not really….” Castiel gave his brother an apologetic look.

“Not surprised. You did just get unceremoniously dumped by that bi….” Gabriel stopped when he saw the warning look flare up in Castiel’s eyes. “Okay fine.  Won’t bad mouth Meg…..in front of you anyway…..” a mischievous twinkle glittered in the corner of his eyes.

Cas let out a weary sigh, “She didn’t….” he let his gaze fall to his hands, “Okay she did dump me. But honestly Gabriel I am relieved.” His voice went low and soft, “I wasn’t happy.”

“I see.” Gabriel shifted and sat down beside Castiel, only instead of folding his legs like his brother, he let his dangle between the wood railing and over the edge of the deck, “So you were unhappy, but stuck around until she got fed up and did the dirty work for you.”

“It wasn’t like that….” Castiel started to protest.

“Just like with Michael and Raphael….”Gabriel cut him off. “You aren’t happy playing in Seraphim, you hate having to use the contrabass every single performance and I know you are bored with all the lyrical pseudo religious pop crap they play. But you stick with it because it’s easier to do that than confront them.”

Castiel said nothing and instead let his gaze fall to the bass guitar he held cradled against his body.

“And look at you, three hours on a beautiful instrument that is pretty much an extension of your soul and besides Anna and I….no other human has heard you play it.” Gabriel’s eyes lost their edge and went warm, “What were you up here playing over and over again? Chris Squire’s parts from ‘Fragile’ I’ll bet.”

 A quick small smile broke over Castiel’s lips and he nodded in the affirmative, “Maybe.”

“As if you could kid a kidder. I know you Cassie. I know you can play ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’ in your sleep, you can riff everything from Les Claypool and Flea’s insanity to McCartney and Entwistle…… and you experiment enough to put some of the jazz greats to shame.” Gabriel chuckled, “You’re talented and obsessed….and if you would just get out from under Michael’s thumb you’d probably become one of the greatest musicians in modern history.”

“So what would you have me do Gabriel? Just walk out? Run away?” Castiel said this gently, almost pleading. “I’m not Anna. I’m not you. I can’t just take off into the unknown like you both did.” Castiel turned his eyes to the skyline of Chicago. “I can’t run away from something Gabriel…..”

“I need to run TO something.” Castiel brought his eyes back to meet his older brother’s.

Gabriel just nodded not so much in understanding but acceptance, “And crashing on my couch now is….what?”

Castiel nearly rolled his eyes, “A temporary necessary evil until I can find a place.”

“Is this where I get to say ‘I told you so’ for moving in with Meg?” Gabriel smirked.

“Fine. If that’s my penance….”Castiel caught the smirk and then did actually do an eye roll.

“So what was the straw that broke little miss Meg’s tolerance of you?” Gabriel quirked one brow up. “Too many chicks flirting with you when you were in Tulsa last weekend?”

"No…..” Now Castiel began to look a little uncomfortable.

“Oh ho ho….did she finally learn that you like guys too?” Gabriel grinned.

“Not…exactly….” Castiel shifted and extended his legs out to mimic Gabriel, letting them dangle over the edge of the deck, “I just was….preoccupied….and not really paying attention to her.”

Gabriel lifted both brows now and remained quiet, waiting for Castiel to continue.

“Perdition’s show was on Friday, and Josie wanted to stay until Saturday to see one of the other bands that will be at the audition in St Louis tomorrow. Which meant I was dragged along as well.” Castiel nodded as if this was all some great cosmic joke that he was forced to be part of, “And guess who the band was that Josie was so hot to see….who will be there in St Louis….competing against Perdition and Seraphim as well as the other bands that will be there…..just take a guess.”

Gabriel frowned a moment in thought, then shook his head and shrugged not coming up with any ideas. “Spill.”

“Slaughter House Four.” The name came off Castiel’s tongue as if it were his death sentence.

“Wait…the Winchester kid’s band?!” Gabriel’s gold eyes went wider.

Castiel said nothing and just looked down at his hands, at his bass, at the winged design burnished into its surface. “I don’t know what I am going to do Gabriel.”

“Cassie this is insane. You saw that guy play live once…..”

“Six times.” Castiel corrected him.

“Okay, six times but you’ve never talked to him, you don’t know him…..he doesn’t know you….you’ve just watched him from afar as he’s performed. This is just some nutty crush you need to get over.” Gabriel gestured with exasperation out to the Chicago skyline.

Castiel carefully thumbed against one of the strings on his bass and then stopped, “I wish you could see him Gabriel. When he plays…. there is so much raw brilliant energy there. He glows from within. And for his age, the talent and skill he has is unmatched. And when he’s up there on the stage…..”

“You’ve got a hard on for him that makes the US submarine fleet look squishy and soft. I get it.” Gabriel snorted.

Castiel threw a glare at Gabriel now, his eyes burned down into thin slivers, “The whole band is good. Better than good. They could take this contest all the way to the end. They have what it takes. Their cadence and their intuitive nature of each other when playing is amazing. The song writing is original and well crafted….”

Gabriel held his hands up in surrender, “Okay okay okay! I get it. You’re a fan.” Then with a chuckle he added, “So what are you gonna do this weekend when you see them at the auditions? What are you gonna do when Seraphim has to compete with Slaughter House Four?”

Castiel looked dejected, “I don’t know.”

Gabriel leaned back and stretched out across the surface of the deck, spreading his arms to lay up beyond his head. He looked out into the night sky and just thought to himself.

Changing the subject, Castiel said, “Are you DJing this weekend at Valhalla?”

“No….I’ve got to be on a plane tomorrow for Berlin. I’m spinning at Berghain on Saturday. Doing a thing there with Sven Vath….man I have so much fun with that guy. Then I am off to Paris and Ibiza for a bit.” Gabriel peered at Castiel, “You’ve got a key…you’re welcome to stay as long as you need Cassie, you know that right?”

“Of course and…..Thank you.” Castiel nodded.

“You can text me after you have a panic attack from running into that Winchester guy backstage….” Gabriel let a sly smile crawl across his face. “You should give his ass a little squeeze though, just to be friendly…”

“Gabriel…”

Gabriel let out a laugh and curled his feet up onto the deck. Then he took a deep breath and said, “Take your bass guitar with you this weekend.” He reached over and tapped Castiel’s side lightly, “Don’t leave it here. Take it with you.”

“Why?” Castiel looked over and down at his brother.

“I just have a feeling.” Gabriel covered his face with his arm and hid his eyes. “Can’t hurt right?”

Gabriel got up suddenly with a bright smile on his face, “Good. Now that’s settled, let’s get inside. I’m ravenous and I want Carbonara. Come keep me company while I make a mess of my kitchen….” He reached down, turned off the amplifier, unplugged the headphones and began to wrap up the power cord on the amp.

“Fine.” Castiel stood and gathered up the headphones and his bass. “And you might as well let me cook though. You always scorch the sauce.”

Gabriel picked up the amp and began to descend on the stairs, “I do not….”

“Lies.” Castiel followed him, his tone of voice flat and even, “Lies and fabrications. You have and will….”

“Bullshit.” Gabriel laughed.

The brother’s bantered as they went down the stairs and in through the backdoor leading to Gabriel’s kitchen. They teased each other about food and wine and other topics that had nothing to do with the music industry, family obligations, or unrequited crushes. And later sometime in the small silent hours of the night, Castiel woke and decided that his brother was right. It was silly to be worked up over someone he had never spoken to, it was even sillier to keep playing with a band he didn’t enjoy being with, and maybe bringing along his beloved bass guitar was the smartest idea Gabriel had all day. Maybe it would bring him good luck.

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	5. Pre-Flight

 

 

St. Louis, Missouri - The Ninth Circle

 

If Fergus Crowley could have the entire music industry under his rule, he would be thrilled.  At 30 he owned six nightclubs in cities around the world. At 32 he took on management of his first rock band, a death metal band from Norway named ‘Hell Hounds’. At 33 he signed four other bands. At 35 he lost everything in a big gamble to merge his record label, ‘Crossroad Kiss Records’ with ‘Angeleus Records’. The merger backfired.

Now, with only one club under his control, and only two bands, Crowley’s eyes are on reclaiming his former glory. The two bands he currently manages are his old mates ‘Hell Hounds’, and the feme powerhouse 'Perdition'.

Crowley found Perdition in a New Orleans blues club several years ago, playing to tiny crowds and half asleep drunks. He instantly saw the potential in the young women with their Gothic sound and their commanding stage presence. He dressed them all in black, had them add a darker back beat to their music to make it more danceable and then introduced them to his old friend, Lucifer Garrison. Lucifer had been part of another band under the 'Angeleus' label but stayed with Crowley when the merger flopped.

From there Crowley booked them on the college circuit and began saturating the Internet with free samples of their current release. Less than a month later their sales on iTunes spiked and their YouTube videos got thousands of hits per day. If he could get Free Will Records to back a global marketing campaign for 'Perdition' with global sales, he’d be back on the road to being King again.

Crowley walked with purposeful steps out of his office on the third floor of the large historic warehouse he currently owned near the riverfront in St Louis. It was close to the bridges and the park, and sometimes he fussed that there were no windows on the proper side of the building to see the St Louis Arch. The building was massive however, and since the historic society had only preserved the buildings shell, he had gutted the place's interior and rebuilt to suit himself.

The third floor were offices for both the club and for his record label. It also held an ample recording studio and rehearsal space for the bands he managed. The second floor opened up in the center to overlook the main floor. There were tables here and a secondary bar installed and the lighting booth and sound booth were also up here. The main floor had booths along the walls, a few tables, a huge bar that stretched the length of the club on one side and then the large performance stage along the other side. In the basement below the stage there were multiple dressing rooms for the performers to relax and prepare in.

Crowley made his way to the stage now, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt at the edges of his suit coat as he went. He did a cursory walk through by the sound booth and got a salute from Ash who was busy settling in for the weekend, then descended the stairs to the main floor.

Josie Sands was standing on the empty dance floor in front of the stage. She had her left arm tucked across her chest, while the elbow for the right rested propped on the left arm. The fingers of her right hand were toying idly with the pearl necklace she was wearing. Her rich red hair was swept up in an elegant updo very reminiscent of a 1950’s housewife, but the rest of her look was total rock goddess. Black jeans, black leather boots and a black leather jacket over a cheeky t-shirt with a cartoon devil on it. She was looking at the stage but her eyes were far away in thought.

“Something vexing you Darling?” Crowley purred in his British accent as he came to stand beside her.

“Mmmm, a bit. Meg dumped Luc’s little brother.” She gave a light shrug as if this was not a big issue, “Which is fine. He was distracting her too much with his robot like ability to keep her at arm’s length.” She brought one finger up to tap against her bottom lip now, her eyes still on the stage, “But Ruby….well…..there is something we need to discuss.”

“Go on.” Crowley simply slid his hands into his suit coat pockets.

“She met Sam Winchester when we were in Tulsa last weekend.” Again she tapped her finger thoughtfully against her crimson lip.

“Heard of him. Gangly thing…like a moose. Part of Slaughter House Four. Considered booking them here once. Then decided against it.” Crowley stated in his business man tone.

Josie turned slightly and looked side long at Crowley, “Ruby is smitten. In love even. She’s been on the phone with him every day…..He's the one calling her….”

Crowley said nothing but his jaw clenched.

“I’m encouraging this.” Her eyes glittered with some inner fire and she smiled.

“Why in the world would you do that Luv? The last thing we need right now is for our bass player to run off with some backwoods Moose.” Crowley kept his tone smooth but a small tick in the vein in his forehead began to pulse.

“What if….” Her smile went wild, “We brought the Moose into the fold. What if we added a very attractive and competent young keyboardist to our line up?”

Crowley stilled and mulled this over. The tick subsided and he shifted on his feet. He stretched his neck a bit out of his collar and then looked back at Josie. “Luc will never go for it. He likes being the stud, posturing for the female fans, playing like he’s fucking all you girls in the band….”

“Don’t you worry about Lucifer. Lilith and I can handle him.” Josie purred and began fiddling with her pearl necklace again, “Fresh blood would be good and he's very pretty. He’ll be easy to lure away when Slaughter House Four crashes and burns in the auditions.”

“You so sure about that are you?” Crowley had to chuckle at Josie’s unabashed confidence.

“Their songs are good, talented even. But they aren’t cohesive. They don’t function as a full unit yet. The Winchester brothers are in sync, so is the drummer. The bass player is a weak link. I intend to exploit that.” Josie stopped smiling and her eyes became cold.

“How so?” Crowley gave her a curious look.

“Oh let me surprise you for once please?”  She gave him a manipulative pout, then turned on her heel and walked off without another word.

Crowley fumed silently and suddenly began to wonder who was really in charge here.

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

 

If Christina Ronald could have the name ‘Pepper Pots’ listed under her own name on her business cards it would save a lot of time and energy explaining her job, her duties and her place at Free Will Records.

Basically, she ran Free Will Records answerable only to one other person, her boss; the owner of the label. She had started at the company when it was a small unknown Indy label based in Chicago. Originally hired as a receptionist, she had worked her way up in the ranks and due to her creativity and business savvy, had helped the company grow alongside her. To keep up she had taken business courses at night to get her MBA, and then continued to study in other areas as well. The owner of the business had not only recognized her skills, he embraced them.

The other interesting thing about her job is that no one else in the company knew now who the owner was. She knew, and they had functioned as a bizarre tag team as the company had grown. But the owner was determined to remain a silent hidden shadow in the background and was more than happy for Christina to run everything. Normally their promotional campaigns and how they scouted new talent was fully on her, but several months ago The Big Man had phoned her up with a ‘just go with me on this – just this once’ idea of hosting a battle of the bands to draw in new groups to possibly sign.

She had felt it was a solid game plan. Battle of the Band competitions drew a lot of good press, made for a lot of free publicity as word of mouth spread, and the bands usually did most of the work themselves in promoting the event. Plus there was never anything wrong with a little healthy competition.

What worried her though was the Big Man’s sudden need to have her update him on everything surrounding the competition. It wasn’t that he seemed to not trust her. She understood it wasn’t that at all. But somehow it felt as if he had another underlying agenda going on secretly in tandem with the event.

For example, she had barely gotten checked into her hotel in St Louis when her phone began to rapid fire ping off texts from him.

 

[Big Boss Man] – Christina, my angel, you settled in yet? Let me know.  
[Big Boss Man] – How is the hotel? It came recommended but you never know.  
[Big Boss Man] – Have the bands arrived yet?  
[Big Boss Man] – Gimme an update on each band’s arrival and if they need anything.  
[Big Boss Man] – Spoken to Crowley yet?  
[Big Boss Man] - If he gives you any gruff, threaten to pull Ash out of there.  
[Big Boss Man] – Let me know when Seraphim arrive.  
[Big Boss Man] – And Slaughter House Four.

 

It was the last two texts that had her frowning in curiosity. He had been repeatedly dropping mentions of both bands since the inception of the competition, almost as if he had his sights set on them for some specific reason.

She hit the dial button and brought her phone to her ear. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Angel mine!” His voice came over the phone honey sweet.

“I feel like I’m all three of Charlie’s Angels all rolled into one…and I have no Bosley.” She chuckled and drew back the curtain to look out her hotel window. Outside the St Louis Arch, the park and the river front stretched out away from her.

“You can hire a Bosley if you want Angel. But you can’t call me ‘Charlie’.” His smile could be heard over the phone.

“I can hire a Bosely? I'm going to hire a Bosely. I'm going to hire Bill freakin' Murry is what I am going to do. Where are you Boss Man?” She turned from the window and walked to her suitcase.

“LaGuardia. Layover. No big deal. I planned for it. How did the meetings go in LA this week?” the last word was muffled a bit as he put something into his mouth.

“Easy as pie. The TV show’s consent is in the bag. We can start putting together sanctioned packages of music and we can begin submitting new music for them to use next season.” She opened her suitcase and unzipped one of the inner compartments. “So tell me Boss Man….what’s the deal with Seraphim and Slaughter House Four?”

“What are you talking about Angel?” His voice was cool as a cucumber.

“You know exactly what I am talking about.” She pulled her small bag of tooth paste and toothbrush from her suitcase. “And don’t try dancing around this one. I won’t hesitate to bring up the Dublin incident.”

“Pfft. Dublin was nothing….” He scoffed.

“Oh? Really?” Christina brought her hand to her hip still clutching the small bag. “Is that why you can’t set foot in Ireland for the next ten years? I’m sure the staff at Rolling Stone magazine would love to hear all about it.”

“You wouldn’t.” His voice held a certain amount of reverence knowing she would indeed tell Rolling Stone Magazine all about it. “Fine.”

“Fine.” She echoed him.

“It’s….a family thing.” His voice came softer now.

“Wait…. YOUR family?!” Christina felt her knees weaken. If a member of the family of the owner won and the other bands found out, there could be lawsuits and legal nightmares galore.

“Yes but….”He started.

“Boss Man! Are you trying to ruin us?? Do you know what our legal counsel would say about this?!” She waved the small bag about over her head.

“They said…and I quote….since we are having a panel of judges decide the outcome of the competition, we would in no way be liable.” His voice gave an almost delighted giggle at the end. “As long as I am not the one making the final call…and I won’t be….we are free and clear. Plus it's in the waivers the bands have to sign as part of the competition agreement. The judges' rulings are final.”

Christina sat down hard on the edge of the hotel bed. She bounced slightly a moment and reigned in her breathing. She told herself she needed to go back over the fine print on those waivers. “Okay. Okay.” Her eyes went up to the ceiling and she relaxed, “So you have family in both bands?”

“No. Just one of them. The other band…Let me keep my reason for interest in them a secret for now okay?” His smile came across over the phone again.

“I really don’t want to know do I?” She said with exasperation.

“Probably not Angel. But you’re a smart girl. I think you’ll figure everything out on your own as you follow the bands through the audition process.” Once again, he had something in his mouth that muddled bits of his sentence. “Listen, I need to go. We’ll be boarding in a bit.”

“Okay.” She sighed.

“Keep me updated yes? Yes?” He said it was such genuine enthusiasm Christina couldn’t fight the smile creeping up on her face. He never failed to do that to her.

“Of course Boss Man. Enjoy your flight.” They said their farewells and she disconnected the call.

She flopped back onto the bed and let her blonde hair flow in every direction. “Well crap Christina, what have you gotten yourself into this time?!”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	6. The Ninth Circle

 

 

St Louis, Missouri – The Ninth Circle

 

Slaughter House Four pulled up and parked along the street just down from ‘The Ninth Circle’. The warehouse it was in was large and it had an impossible to miss multi-layered sign out along the street side wall. From the look of all the different vans and vehicles lining the street, other bands were already inside the venue being orientated for the auditions that would run all weekend.

Ash had asked them to come to the venue the minute they pulled into town and not to bother getting a hotel as he had already booked their accommodations for them. His explained it was a loan, and that when they were rich and famous, he expected to be repaid by being given wild Las Vegas parties with Burlesque girls. Dean had agreed with a laugh.

So here they were, parked out front, crawling out of their cars and vans to stretch their legs after the long drive. They wandered around the corner of the building, following the entry sidewalk to come to the main doors themselves. Small groups of people were hanging around outside, members of other bands and their crews as well as one TV reporter who was interviewing someone. 

Dean pressed past them all and went through the large double door entry, Sam and the rest close behind him. Inside were more people milling about. Sunlight streamed in through huge industrial windows that rimmed the main floor’s walls on all sides. As they walked in, the bar stretched away on their left and right, and in front of them yawned a well-appointed stage area. It’s backdrop merely the rough but beautiful vintage brick of the warehouse. In front of the stage two long tables had been set up, and a line had formed at the end of one of them. Dean wandered to the end of that line and took his place in the que.

“Okay, so Kevin, you hang out here with me in case they have tech questions that need answering….Sam, Benny…why don’t you guys go find Ash and find out where our hotel is. Garth, can you see if we can round up some beers or something? And Rufus.....?” Dean looked over to their bass player questioningly.

"I'll tag along with Garth." Rufus smiled, "A beer sounds good."

Dean was answered by the rest with a mix of nods and grunts, and then the group dispersed.  Kevin shuffled in front of Dean in the line, with the retort that since he was shorter Dean could see over his head. Then Kevin seemed engrossed in keeping his eyes on what was happening at the tables they had lined up for.

Dean shrugged and crammed his hands into his jean pockets. He stretched up a bit on his toes to scope over the heads of the crowd, looking around to see if he recognized anyone. Instantly he saw Perdition, the entire group, seated talking and drinking at a large booth tucked in one back corner. None of them looked up or made eye contact with him so he looked away. A moment later he saw Jo Harvelle, Ellen’s daughter, who ran a well-respected music blog and music forum out of Denver. He caught her eye and she waved and smiled, but then went back to talking to two band members in front of her.

Dean keeping going up on tip-toe, looking around as he and Kevin shuffled forward in the line. Kevin was muttering about how it looked like this was some kind of registration and that he was guessing there were at least twenty bands here for the auditions. Dean half listened and kept looking around.

Dean sighed loudly when he saw Garth leaning at the bar talking to a younger redheaded girl, but was thankful it wasn’t Josie Sands. Then another group at the bar caught his eye. Five men all wearing casual business suits in varying shades of grey. Two of them were fair skinned with dark hair while two had very dark skin and dark eyes. The last was blond and had the sort of tan complexion one gets from being outdoors quite a lot. One of the dark haired men was facing away from Dean, but the others were looking in his general direction at the line along the tables. Dean was about to look away when the dark haired man facing the bar turned around.

And Dean met the most intensely blue-eyed gaze he had ever seen. The man had been bringing a glass of ice water to his lips when he had turned, and he and Dean made eye contact randomly. But once contact was made, Dean felt it was impossible to look away. The blue of those eyes were like the summer sky just before twilight, when it was darkening but still vibrant. And when the man realized that Dean was looking right at him, those eyes went wide in surprise. They held there like that for an impossibly long moment. Dean could feel his cheeks warming up and a smile blooming over his lips. The man was beautiful.

“Dean? Dean!” Kevin was shaking Dean’s arm.

Dean snapped around and blinked, the dazed smile still on his face. “Wha….what what?”

Kevin shoved a pen into Dean’s hands and pointed at the paperwork on the table. They were at the front of the line suddenly. A dark haired woman was smiling politely at Dean and asking him for identification and for other information to register Slaughter House Four for the auditions. As Dean went to pull out his wallet to get his I.D. he craned around to look back where the blue-eyed man had been. He was still there, though now with his attention turned back to the bar and back to the group he was standing with.

Dean took in a quick breath and went back to the paper work. The first was an information packet about the weekend, the second stack was a waiver and a temporary release form that needed signed, the last was several stacks of papers that required information filled out about the band. Dan realized as he flipped through the papers his hands were shaking.

“You don’t need to read those now. Just bring them back tomorrow at noon, signed and filled out. We’ll announce the band performance order then and give you backstage passes and other goodies.” The dark haired woman then gestured to the next person seated at the table, “If you’ll talk to Hester, she’ll get you set up with drink vouchers to use here at The Ninth Circle for the weekend….”

Dean nodded, feeling his breath steadying out. He thanked her and then turned to Hester. He fought the urge to turn around and look for the blue-eyed man again.

After Hester there were two other people seated at the tables, either asking him questions about Slaughter House Four to get the band set up for the weekend, or to give him information or items to use; t-shirts that had the Free Will Records logo on them, pins with ‘The Ninth Circle” in cloisonné, rubber wrist bands from a local youth charity for the arts, as well as a few other flyers and stickers from a few of the bands competing. By the time they were at the end of the table, Kevin’s arms were full as Dean kept loading things on him saying things like, “You’re a roadie, act like one.”

At the end of the table a very business professional looking young woman stood shaking hands with everyone has the came away. She had soft blond hair and big warm brown eyes capped off with a delightful smile on her face. As Dean came near she offered her hand out to him to shake.

“Christina Ronald, Executive Management for Free Will Records…..and you are?” She beamed.

Dean took her hand and shook, his smile coming off a little crooked, “Uh, Dean…Dean Winchester…. Slaughter House Four….”

She nodded as they released their hands from the shake, her smile growing brighter somehow and Dean realized that it was the way her nose crinkled up slightly. She had a friendly lilt to her voice when she spoke again, “Oh yes. Slaughter House Four…Vonnegut fan I take it?”

“Yes actually,” Dean felt his confidence settling in, “Big fan of all his novels.”

“It's an interesting choice for a band name. Distinctive." She paused a moment then said, "I noticed you were the only band that didn’t bring a demo CD with them.” Her eyes flickered over to the long tables and then back to Dean, but her happy demeanor didn’t change.

“Uh, no I guess not.” Dean felt himself pale a little, “Were we supposed to?”

“Nope.” She shook her head lightly. “Wasn’t a requirement.”

“Oh good….” Dean let out a relieved sigh and then looked over his shoulder to the bar as if he couldn’t help himself. “Hey uh, can I ask you something?”

Christina’s head canted ever so slightly, noting where Dean was looking before he asked. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“The group of men at the bar….in the grey suits….”Dean was still looking over at them and not at Christina. “Who are those guys?”

A very intrigued look flashed in Christina’s eyes. “That’s the band ‘Seraphim’. The Garrison brothers, Micheal, Raphael, Uriel, Balthazar and Castiel. They are from Chicago and they are one of the bands competing this weekend.” She saw Dean swallow hard and noticed the odd look on his face.

“Wait…brothers?” Dean blinked and finally turned back around.

“Some are adopted. And actually Balthazar is a cousin.” Christina gave a little shrug and decided the faint blush that was on Dean’s cheeks now was adorable. She was beginning to understand what her Boss Man’s secret interest was.

“And they are competing too….” Dean took in a deep breath and then reached out to shake her hand again, but it was clear in his eyes his brain was working a mile a minute.

“It was nice meeting you Dean. I look forward to hearing your band play.” Christina shook Dean’s hand again and then walked away from him to greet another person.

Dean stood there a long moment, rubbed his hand through his hair and tried to get his pulse under control.  Finally he turned around, girding himself to go and say hello to the man with the impossibly gorgeous eyes when suddenly Garth was in front of him shoving a beer into his hand. Beside him was the redhead Garth had been speaking to at the bar.

“Hey Dean, you need to meet Charlie.” Garth nodded to the redhead.

She stuck out both of her hands and grabbed hold of Dean’s free one, pumping them a few times before letting go. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes glimmered with excitement, “Charlie Bradbury….Rolling Stone Magazine….reporter….”

Dean’s eyes snapped away from Seraphim to look at Charlie Bradbury, reporter for….Dean blinked and smiled big, “Rolling Stone….wow…really?”

She stuck her hand into the side pocket of her corduroy jacket, withdrew a business card and handed it to him, “I was hoping I could buy you guys dinner tonight and get an interview. I was sent out to cover the whole contest, from the auditions to the final battle in Chicago, but I’m also writing a side article about the journeys of two of the bands who are competing. I’d really like Slaughter House Four to be one of those bands.”

Dean fingered the business card in his hand, and titled his head a little giving Charlie and curious look from the side of his eye. “Why us?”

She took a deep breath before she replied honestly, “Truthfully, you guys are the under dogs here.” She pointed to ‘Perdition’ seated and holding court in their corner booth, “’Perdition there….they have a following of over five thousand fans on their facebook page alone. They have already sold thousands of CDs and tracks on iTunes.” She gestured to a group of men with long blond hair standing to the side of the stage, “That band is ‘Revenant Rose’ and they opened for Metallica that last time they toured the Midwest….and those guys….” She turned to point at Seraphim now, “That is ‘Seraphim’. Last summer they toured with Enya through New Zealand.”

“So if they are all so successful why do they want to be here competing? Why do they even need to?” Dean frowned.

“Because Free Will Records gives their bands complete creative control over the music they produce. Free Will believes in giving artists full autonomy over their process…..and because that woman there…” Charlie pointed to Christina Ronald, “She’s a business genius. Get the Free Will contract and you’ll probably be looking at winning a Grammy in the next two years as well as multi-million dollar global sales. That’s why.”

Dean’s throat felt way too dry and he gulped down a thick swallow of beer.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way but Slaughter House Four are the low men on the totem pole here. You guys are nearly unknowns. That you even got in this far is basically an act of God.” Charlie chuckled gently, “But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance. In fact I think you will be the big surprise in all this and I want to tell your story.”

Dean looked from his beer to Garth. Garth was standing there with his usual zen like calm rolling off him in waves. Garth just smiled and gave a little half shrug, “It’s free dinner man…..”

“Steak dinner, at the best place in St Louis.” Charlie chimed in, the excitement in her radiating like Garth’s calm. “Six o’clock? Meet you here and we can walk over. It’s not far.”

Dean smiled gently, “Okay Charlie Bradbury from Rolling Stone Magazine…we’re in.”

“Awesome! Thanks!” She gave a quick pat to Garth’s arm then strolled away, right over to the members of ‘Seraphim’.

Dean saw her go, saw her walk right up to that group and engage them in conversation. He let out a small disappointed sigh. Going to talk to the beautiful blue-eyed man would have to wait. He took another drink from his beer and just watched them all a moment. The other dark haired man seemed to take the lead in conversing with Charlie while the others stayed quiet. Dean kept his eyes on the blue-eyed man primarily hoping he would look Dean’s way. The man was shifting almost nervously back and forth on his feet and it had Dean’s curiosity up.

“That’s the guy.” Kevin was beside Garth now, and both of them were watching Charlie talk to the members of ‘Seraphim’. “The guy facing the bar in the grey suit. That’s the guy.”

Dean shot a look over to Kevin, “What are you talking about?”

“From Tulsa….the one that was staring at you weird. I thought he was the violinist from ‘Perdition’ but I was wrong.” Kevin stated simply.

Dean flicked his eyes over to the man he had made eye contact with and a crazy fluttering began to creep into his gut. No wonder the guy was fidgeting and nervous. He had been spying on Dean last weekend at the honky tonk. “Really...... Huh.”

“Where’s Sam and Benny?” Kevin shifted all the merchandise and papers he hand in his arms.

“Right here…”Benny’s voice came from behind them as he pushed through the crowd. “Ash got us a huge suite at the hotel across the park. You guys ready to go get settled in?”

“Where’s Sam?” Dean frowned a little.

“Said he’d meet up with us later. He ran into a friend and wanted to hang out with them for a bit.” Benny shrugged, “Text him if you want.” But when Dean opened his mouth to protest Benny cut him off, “Dean, he’s 21. He’ll be fine. They just went to the coffee shop two blocks away. Settle down.”

Dean drew in a sharp breath and just nodded. Then he said, “We have an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine at six. Reporter is buying his dinner….where is Rufus?” Dean couldn’t shake the annoyed tone out of his voice.

“Outside by the vans waiting on us.” Garth finished his beer.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Dean drank down the last of his beer as well, then turned to follow his band mates as they walked out.

When Dean glanced back over to where Seraphim had been standing to get one last look at the man with the blue eyes, they were gone. Dean left his empty bottle on the bar as he passed it, and hoped that this weekend would give him another chance to approach the man. He had a lot of questions now, the least of which was finding out what the man’s name was. And Dean hoped that those mesmerizing blue eyes wouldn’t be impossibly distracting during the auditions.

He couldn’t afford to have anything mess this audition up now.

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	7. The Roster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late....and HUGE HUGE THANK YOUs to those of you who are still reading. I appreciate it so much. Thank you!

 

St Louis, MO - The Ninth Circle

 

One o’clock Saturday afternoon came around. By the time Sam and Dean were done with the final portions of registration and had their backstage badges and all the other things they would need, they were not only ravenous with hunger but jittery as well. They had discovered that the random computer generated line up for when the bands would perform had dropped them second from the last on Sunday night, eight o’clock at night. They wouldn’t be the very last band playing but it would be close.

The brothers stood off to the side of the stage now, huddled against the back wall to look over the final packet of information that listed what bands played when, and who the judges for the competition were. Around them the interior of the venue was thinly controlled chaos as some of the bands were slated to play in two hours when the auditions opened to the crowd gathering outside.

Free Will Records was opening the auditions to the public with free admittance to the first hundred people to show up, and then a simple five dollar cover charge after that. With a live crowd in attendance, the judges could gauge how each band handled a live audience. It also made the stress level of performing ante up more.

It showed in Dean’s body language. He couldn’t keep still, one moment leaning against the wall, the next pacing in a tight line in front of Sam. In his hands was the band roster and he kept staring at the name of the band slated to play right before Slaughter House Four.

“This has GOT to be some kind of sick joke.” Dean flopped the roster and let it slap against his thigh with a sharp sound.

Sam felt it more than heard it between all the noise in the venue and so many people rushing around them. “Relax Dean, it’ll be fine. Don’t let it psyche you out.” Sam’s eyes were on the list of judges, which gave their names, their credentials and a short bio as well as their photo. “So get this…all the judges are other artists on the Free Will Record’s label. It says here in the mission statement of this competition is to allow current contract artists to decide who they want represented on the label that handles their careers….” Sam let the paper down and followed his brother’s pacing a moment with his eyes, “That’s actually kinda cool if you think about it…”

Dean flicked his gaze at Sam, “Yea…it is….” And Dean’s curiosity derailed his obsession with the band roster a moment to slid up alongside Sam, “Let me see.”

Sam held it so they could both read, “Joshua Gardener lead member of the Joshua Trio….” Sam smiled at the name, “Twenty-five years in the music industry doing R&B and soul….I have two of their albums….they’re great….says he joined Free Will Records five years ago….” Sam continued, “Rachael Sheldworthy…. Professor of Music Theory at Chicago University….one of the founding investors of Free Will Records…..”

“No way!!” Dean smiled seeing the third name on the list, “Kali Khan! She’s fantastic. Huge Bollywood singer…she’s in all these awesome musicals about epic Hindu mythology. What’s she doing here though?”

Sam gave his brother a ‘how do you even know that?’ look before reading off Kali Khan’s bio, “Says here she was courted by Free Will Records two years ago to branch off and start a solo music career making electronic dance music…” Sam paused and looked at Dean, “Bollywood Dean? Really?”

“Have you seen any of those films Sam? There’s revenge and crazy plot twists and huge battles in some and people dancing on tops of moving trains through the country side and epic love stories and insane mis-communication between characters and secret identities and….”Dean was grinning and gesturing.

“Okay…okay…”Sam nodded, the disbelieving little brother face fading. He went back to the judges list and continued to read, “Alfie Samandriel….German electronic music producer and disc jockey….” Dean just shrugged and Sam continued, “And Claire Novak, child prodigy pianist with the Chicago Philharmonic.”

Dean bit his lip and worried it between his teeth a moment, “I’m seeing a decided lack of rock and roll musicians on that list. Electronic dance music, soul, rhythm and blues, classical music….”

Sam looked at Dean, “Does Free Will Records even have a rock band on their label right now?”

“Yea, ‘People on Pins’ and ‘St. George’s Dragons’….”Dean continued when Sam shrugged showing he didn’t know the bands, “Well, ‘Pins’ is kind of a ‘Foo Fighters’ sound and they took the Grammy for best new artist at the 2009 awards….I know you’ve heard their stuff on the radio….. you probably didn’t know it was them. And the ‘Dragons’ are southern rock…really old school ‘Molly Hatchet’ sound mixed with ‘Counting Crows’….” Dean turned to Sam, “You know that one song that was all over the place last year….” Dean sang, “Catch you runnin’ round, running round, up and over, over the ground, catch you baby, runnin’ round….”

“Yea yea yea…” Sam nodded instantly recognizing the lyrics.

“That’s the ‘Dragons’.” Dean sighed, “I guess I was hoping both those bands would be here…..but I no such luck….” Dean felt his stomach twist up and he looked back down to the band roster in his own hand.

Sam saw where Dean’s eyes fell and reached over to twist the roster out of his brother’s hand. He brought it up eye level and began to skim the roster. “Okay well let’s see…..” Sam’s smile quirked up at the corners as he looked over some of the other band names, “…’The Firebombs’….’Calico Jack and the Buchaneers’….’Southern Vampire Sluts’….’Trojan Motion’…”Sam couldn’t hold back a laugh, “I’m sorry that one is just….”

Dean nodded with an eye roll, “Yea.”

Sam kept going, “…’The Sanctified’….” Both brothers nodded that they liked that name, “….’Billy Bark and the Dawgs’…..’Seraphim’….” Sam stopped and frowned now seeing what Dean was agitated about before. “’Perdition plays right before we do?!”

Dean groaned and nodded, “Yes. We follow ‘Perdition’.”

An odd look crossed over Sam’s face. It was mix of concern, apprehension and something else. Dean saw it and nudged his brother’s arm with his elbow.

“What?” Dean nudged again.

Sam lowered the paper and brought his hand up to pull slowly down across his mouth. His eyes were turned down and he began taking in a very slow deep breath. “I need to tell you something and…..you probably aren’t gonna like this…..”

Dean pushed off the wall, mostly concern showing on his face for Sam, but there was a small hard rock forming in the pit of his gut at the way Sam wasn’t making eye contact right now. Dean remained silent and calmed his breathing. “Tell me anyway.”

“So when we were in Tulsa….remember how I said I went to walk this girl to her car?” Sam looked anywhere but at Dean, but Sam’s face had this tiny little smile dancing at its edges, “And you know how I’ve been calling her like…every day since?”

Dean relaxed a little. He knew about the girl, he knew his brother was kinda smitten with her and that they talked for hours every night on the phone but he had never listened in. Sam deserved his privacy. “Yea…sure….”

“Well…she’s..” Sam bit back his smile, “She’s in one of the bands that’s here auditioning.”

“Got yourself a Southern Vampire Slut huh Sammy?” Dean gave Sam a lewd playful wink and punched him in the arm lightly.

“Um, no…..”It was then that Sam cut his eyes over to look Dean in the eye and Dean could see the genuine worry in Sam’s eyes over how Dean was going to react. Dean frowned, puzzled, and then the gears fell into place. Tulsa. The honky tonk.

Dean’s face paled, “PERDITION??”

Sam sighed and looked down, not denying it.

“Sam! She’s in THAT band?!” Dean fumed. He clasped one hand hard into his hair and his fingers dug into his scalp. “How?! Could?! You?! This is AWFUL!”

“Dean….Dean!!” Sam reached out and took a firm hold of Dean’s shoulders. “Dean it’s fine. She’s nice and fun and she’s not like Josie and the others. She’s not all wound up in their thing either….”

Dean shoved off Sam’s hands, “Sam….We can not afford this kind of….” Dean railed, throwing his arms over his head.

“This kind of what Dean? Friendliness? Hanging out with other people who love music as much as we do?” Sam leaned in, getting into Dean’s face, “God Dean, this isn’t a war. There is nothing anywhere that says I can’t make friends with other band members who are competing.” Sam’s whole body went tense and his eyes went angry, “In fact there is nothing anywhere that says…actually…. That YOU get to dictate who I hang out with or date…or even FUCK if I want to….I’m not some little kid anymore Dean!”

And with that Sam pushed away, plowing quickly through the crowd of bands at the venue. Dean rocked up on the balls of his feet, yelling after Sam but his words were lost in the noise of the crowd. Soon Dean could see Sam shove roughly through one of the exit doors to disappear outside.

Dean sank down against the rough brick wall. He looked down at the crumpled papers in his hands and felt that rock in his gut grow three times bigger in mass. He pressed the heel of his hand against one eye and barked out an angry bitter laugh at the sudden turn of events. Sam was smitten with one of the members of the one band that was surely to be their biggest challenge this weekend. How could this be any worse?

Dean sucked in a sharp quick breath and looked back at the papers in his hands. They had to be a unified cohesive unit this weekend. They weren’t going to make this work any other way. He calmed his breathing back down and smoothed out the wrinkles on the pages. Dean hated the timing of it all more than anything. “Heck at any other time I could even get behind this, maybe invite her to rehearsals and shit but now…?” Dean grit his teeth and spoke under his breath. For it to happen now just made Dean worry that Ruby’s interest wasn’t just in Sam for Sam’s sake. And with that thought came the sudden slam of the idea that Sam might get hurt in all this. He gripped the pages tight again and began to stand up. He had to go find S…..

Abruptly Dean was colliding with someone, their feet accidentally tangling up and the other person’s arms being tossed skywards as Dean’s shoulder clipped them. They had been carrying a stack of sheet music and now those pages fluttered and danced in the air and around them both.

“Oh shit shit shit…..sorry!” Dean called out, aware that it was his push up off the wall that caught the other person off guard. He immediately began chasing down the sheet music and gathering it up.

“No, I’m sorry I just didn’t see you th…..” the person stopped.

They were both facing each other now, nearly nose to nose. Sheets of music floating like flower petals falling from late spring trees all around them. Dean blinked once, his eyes getting wider as he drank in the other person’s face. It was the man from the day before, with his impossible blue eyes. Twice as incredible up close, Dean could see in detail how their colour banded in subtle differing shades. The blue of the sky at dawn after coming home from being out all night. The blue of a favourite pair of denim jeans, soft and wonderful. The blue of winter shadows cast across snow. And they were so close now, Dean felt pulled in and leaned closer.

The rest of the man’s face was just as gorgeous up close as it had been from across the room yesterday. He had long thick black lashes and there was a finer dusting of soft stubble that came down off his cheeks to become darker against his jaw. Currently his brows were pitched up in a helpless look of surprise and his lips were pursed with his unfinished words, the tip of his tongue just there where those lips came together. All Dean could think about now was chasing after the tip of that tongue. He was so close now, and the urge was like a magnet drawing Dean in.

“Dean….W..Winchester….” The blue eyed man blurted out.

Dean froze, “You know my name?” His eyes back on the man’s overall face now. They were nearly eye to eye, Dean just an inch or so taller.

The man didn’t reply, but instead frowned with indignation. He pulled the sheet music from Dean’s hands and then bent to scoop up the remaining pages on the floor.

“How do you know my name?” Dean bent and for every piece of music he picked up off the floor the other man would snatch it away without looking at him. “You’re part of Seraphim, I know that….you should….” Dean picked up the last four pages and held them out of reach. “You should introduce yourself. It’s only polite.” Dean punctuated this with one of his classic half smiles, the kind that made the corner of his top lip hitch up and usually caused other people’s knees go weak.

The man halted, his eyes on the pages held in Dean’s hands high overhead. Annoyed, he took a moment to look to the stack in his arms, carefully sorting them and making them tidy. Then with a roll of his eyes he looked back at Dean. “Yes. I am a member of Seraphim and those are our sheet music. We have a charity concert tomorrow and we’ll be needing those.” The man held out his hand and raised one eyebrow. When Dean remained as he was, the other man said nothing and instead tilted his head. He leveled his unblinking gaze right at Dean and didn’t flinch. “Please.” He said flatly.

“I’d be more than welcome to return these if you would just tell me your name.” Dean grinned, loving how close they were still standing.

The man let out a small defeated sigh. “Fine. It’s…..”

“Having trouble little brother?” A cool voice came from Dean’s left, and the pages he had held in his hands were lifted from his grasp. Dean shot a look over to find the other dark haired man from yesterday fingering through the four pages, not looking at Dean. He handed the pages back to the blue eyed man and then turned to Dean. “A little old for these sorts of childish games don’t you think Mr…..?” He half held out his hand to Dean.

Dean’s face soured and he let his hands drop to his sides. “Winchester. Dean Winchester.”

When the offered hand shake was not returned, the second dark haired man simply smiled as if the whole interaction up to now somehow clarified something for him. “Mr. Winchester. Especially when we are all here to be professional yes?”

Dean glowered and shifted to lift his chin, clenching his jaw, “True. But there is also nothing wrong with a little friendly playful banter as well right?” Then he half smiled and smirked, one brow cocking up.

“No doubt. My name is Michael Garrison, and I suppose when one isn’t focused on one’s professional career fully, one has time for playful banter.” Michael smiled but there was no warmth in it. When Dean opened his mouth to retort, Michael merely placed one finger over his own lips, “Shhhh. Now I am going to do something very generous, Dean….” Michael leaned a bit closer in, “And not report this as harassment to the lovely record company that has been so very kind as to have this wonderful event for us. You understand that something like that could get you….removed….from the audition process yes?” Michael leaned back with that same smile on his face.

Dean said nothing but could feel the back of his neck burning hot.

“Yes. That’s what I thought.” Michael looked to the other man and the smile washed away into something business like. “We’ve secured a rehearsal space back at the hotel. I’ve scheduled rehearsal time up until dinner, and then we have the wine tasting event to attend.”

The other man spoke up now, the annoyance that was in his eyes before now plainly evident in the tone of his voice, “We rehearsed this morning Michael…and why aren’t we staying to watch the other bands perform?”

Michael gave a long up and down look at Dean and then said casually, “Why do we need to?” Then before turning to stride away he said,  “I’ll see you at the hotel in fifteen minutes.”

The blue eyed man paused for a moment, then made to follow Michael. Dean reached out and caught hold of the man’s coat sleeve and the man stopped but didn’t turn back to look at Dean.

“That sucks man, I’m sorry you won’t get to see the other bands play…it should be a lot of fun….” Dean’s voice came out gentle but a little gruffer than he had meant.

“It is not of import,” The man let his head drop down to look at the sheet music in his arms. “I’m sure I’ll be able to see them all again another time.”

Dean curled his fingers lightly into the fabric of the man’s sleeve, “Yea but it won’t be the same. The energy will be different and their music might sound different and….” Dean let off a small chuckle, “And man, life is too short to be happy with waiting around for ‘next time’. Cuz there might not BE a next time….” He drew closer, “Carpe Diem…..” Then in an almost whisper Dean said, “Tell me your name….”

That made the man look back over his shoulder, spearing Dean again with that deep blue gaze. He looked genuinely disappointed when he first turned around, but when he met Dean’s eyes something else bubbled up, bright and hopeful. His brows went from their severe unhappy tent to lift up lightly.

“It’s Castiel. Castiel Garrison.” Then with more gracefulness than Dean had seen in another man, Castiel pulled himself from Dean’s grasp and slipped away into the crowd.

“Okay well….bye….Cas….”Dean tried to keep an eye on Castiel but he vanished swiftly out of sight. Dean settled back on his heels and thumbed absently on the edges of the papers he was holding. He frowned a little and began to sort his way through the crowd heading for the exit. All his thoughts were knotted up with images of those blue eyes and that dreamy mouth and Castiel’s voice. It had been like the roll of a timpani drum and Dean could still feel it in his chest. The hard little rock below it in his gut reminded him of Sam however.

Dean broke out into the afternoon sunshine and headed back towards the hotel. His head was now doing this shifting comparison, weighing out if what Sam felt for Ruby was the same kind of fascination he had picked up for Castiel. What if what Sam and Ruby had was the real deal? And shouldn’t he trust his brother to do the right thing? Dean nodded to himself as he walked, picking up the pace. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his brother.

It rang twice and then Sam’s angry voice yelled out, “What?!”

“I’m sorry Sam….I…reacted badly. I shoulda trusted you and not exploded. Can we talk?” Dean jogged up along the sidewalk in the direction of the hotel.

Sam was silent for about four heartbeats, “Yes.” Then his voice softened, “Of course. I’m up in our suite at the hotel.”

“Heading up now. And Sam? Crazy idea……” Dean grinned against the phone, “How would you and Ruby like to crash a wine tasting event tonight?”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	8. Seraphim

 

St. Louis - Laclède's Landing

 

Dean was leaning, and bending halfway, as he peered around the edge of a tall glass window. He, Sam and Ruby were just around the corner from ‘Le Belle’, a trendy art gallery that was currently hosting a wine tasting and the chance to meet and mingle with the members of ‘Seraphim’. Dean suspected it was more about bringing people into the gallery to sell off its various art more than anything. He leaned a bit more to view the interior.

Behind him, Sam and Ruby had been talking in soft whispers and giggles. They had held hands through dinner and again later as they walked over to the gallery. Dean wouldn’t admit it, but he was beginning to be happy for Sam. While he still didn’t like that she was part of ‘Perdition’, getting to know her at dinner had proved that she wasn’t awful and that maybe, just maybe, she was genuine about her interest in Sam.

He ignored them now, his focus only on finding a way into the gallery to find Castiel.

There was a small table situated just inside the door where two very elegantly dressed ladies were taking money from people as they walked in, and trading it for a slim wristband. Beyond that, people milled about in black tie tuxes and evening gowns. Waiters brought wine around and hors d’oeuvres. Close to the back Dean could see several people in white tuxedos and Michael was one of them. Dean knew Castiel had to be back there as well.

Dean turned back to Sam and Ruby, “I’m not sure how we can get in…”

“Why are we here again?” Ruby half smiled and crinkled her nose at Dean.

“I’m trying to kidnap a member of ‘Seraphim’….” Dean grinned, “To drag back to the auditions going on right now. We’ve got four more hours of that going on back at the Ninth Circle and….”

Sam simply groaned aloud when he heard all this from his brother. “I swear Dean, there are easier ways to hook up with people.” He gave Ruby’s hand a squeeze.

“Will this make those pompous windbags throw a fit?” Ruby looked at Dean. There was a mischievous gleam in her dark eyes that boarded on malicious.

“Probably. At least I think that Michael guy will probably spring a gasket…..” Dean gave a half shrug.

“Then are we here to drink the wine or not?” Her smile grew bigger and she winked at Dean. “Follow me.”

“Ruby…what….” Sam lost his hold on her hand as she slipped around the corner to the front of the gallery. Sam followed close behind, with Dean right after.

Ruby walked right up to the two ladies at the greeting table, plucked the remaining wristbands from their hands and kept moving. She strutted to the middle of the gallery and flung the wristbands into the air with a laugh, then snatched up the closest glass of wine near her from someone’s hands. She drank it down in nearly one gulp, then winked at the woman she had stolen it from. Then she turned to the nearest person, grabbed the lapels of their tux and planted a huge kiss on their lips.

Behind her the ladies at the table were scrambling to stand up, increased protests coming out of their mouths. Sam inadvertently got in their way, blocking them from coming around the edge of the table. He began to apologize and fumble to try to get out of their way, which only stalled them longer.

Dean hadn’t hesitated. He swooped in right on Ruby’s heels and went directly to where Michael was standing. As he slipped through the distracted crowd, he saw Castiel. With an ever growing grin, Dean snuck around to come up alongside Castiel as quietly as possible.

“Hey Cas.” Dean nudged Castiel with his elbow, “How’s it going?”

Castiel had been frowning as he watched Ruby steal another glass of wine. He looked at Dean, then looked back at Ruby. Then quickly shot his look back at Dean with wide surprised eyes. “Dean?”

Dean took his advantage of Castiel’s stunned look and rucked his arm around the other man’s, linking them. Then he urgently began to guide Castiel around behind the crowd toward the door.

“Yea. Hey. Hi there.” Dean smiled, still moving Castiel along.

“You called me Cas….” Castiel tilted his head, confused.

“Yep.” Dean flashed a smile at Cas and hustled him out the front door.

Behind them Sam and Ruby were tumbling out after them, laughing and hugging each other. They broke into a run and tore past Dean and Cas on the sidewalk. When they were half way down the block Sam and Ruby smiled and waved, then kept going.

“Wait…Dean…what are you doing?” Castiel twisted his head to look back at the gallery behind them as he was moved farther down the sidewalk.

“Kidnapping you.” Dean said cheerfully.

They were about twenty feet from the gallery at that point. Castiel straightened and dug his heels down to halt them. He shook off Dean’s arm and that indignant look was back on his face. He took a moment and smoothed out the sleeve of his tux, glaring sideways at Dean. “Kidnapping me.”

Dean smirked, and sort of cocked his head quick to one side while one brow ticked up. “Yea. I got you out of there so you can come with me to hear the last bands play tonight at the auditions…”

“Dean. I was perfectly capable of extracting myself from that situation. And further more…” Castiel brought his eyes up, intent on spearing Dean with a hard look but when he met Dean’s eyes he stopped. “Did you say….with you?”

There was the slightest hint of a blush on Dean’s cheeks under the fading light. Dean rolled his big green eyes once, “Yea with me. ‘The Sanctified are playing and I want to see how their lead guitar gets such good reverb when he…”

Castiel held up on hand to silence Dean, “So you came to the gallery….”

“Followed you from dinner….” Dean corrected him which made Castiel’s brows lift.

“You followed me from dinner, got your friends to create a distraction in the most expensive gallery in St Louis, snuck in under their cover fire just to drag me off to watch the bands for tonight play at the Ninth Circle.” Castiel’s hands dropped to his sides and just hung there. “With you.”

“Yes. With me. I am not sure what is so difficult to understand here Cas.” Dean let his arms hang at his sides as well.

Castiel stood there a moment and just looked at Dean. He canted his head a bit to the side, scrutinizing Dean with an endless blue stare as if some part of this scenario was something he needed to puzzle out. He breathed in a small intake as if he was going to say something and took a half step closer to Dean. Then he exhaled and said, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Dean questioned.

“Okay.” Castiel nodded and they both turned in unison to begin walking down the sidewalk away from the gallery towards the Ninth Circle.

“So Cas, what do you play in Seraphim…what instrument, what parts?” Dean ducked his head a little to look at Castiel as they walked side by side.

“Bass…mainly, though I know some cello and saxophone. With Seraphim I play the upright bass. But what I really want to play is….” Castiel stopped, hesitating.

“Is? Is what? Come on….” Dean encouraged him.

“I can’t believe I am telling you this. We just met….I don’t know anything about you.” Castiel fumbled with one of the buttons on his tux jacket.

“Oh I think you know more than you let on. I know you were in Tulsa.” Dean winked playfully at Castiel and let them bump shoulders as they walked.

It was Castiel’s turn to blush faintly, “Oh you saw me there….”

Dean just gave Cas another nudge, “What is it you really want to play?”

Castiel took in another breath and finally said, “The electric bass guitar. It’ been a passion of mine since I was a young teen.”

“Then why don’t you?” Dean nudged in, brining his nose closer to Castiel’s cheek as they kept walking.

“There is no place for it in Michael and Raphael’s music.” Castiel said and his shoulders drooped slightly. “And they are in control of Seraphim’s sound.”

“And it’s been successful so far….if it ain’t broke don’t fix it eh? Is that what they tell you?” Dean asked his voice catching an edge as a little anger swelled up inside him.

Castiel simply nodded, then looked to Dean. “I have asked, in the past, if we could work it in…use it for one or two songs. They always give me very good reasons why it would upset the flow or the mood.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to convince family of stuff.” Dean drew in his own deep breath, thinking of the times he had butt heads with Sam or Bobby. “So you just going to keep doing what they want then.”

“Until I have another option open to me, yes.” Castiel replied.

Dean nodded, then nudged Cas yet again. This time hard enough that they bumped more than shoulders and elbows. Dean’s hip lightly checked against Castiel’s and it made the sad look on Cas’s face melt away into a small smile.

“Well tonight let's just enjoy some good music, and we can rag on the bands when they suck and cheer them when they are great and just have fun.” Dean lifted his arm and extended his hand to the nightclub now in front of them. Castiel smiled now with his eyes and nodded in agreement.

When they got to the door and the bouncers wanted I.D. and money for the cover, they both flashed their band badges and were allowed inside. They pressed their way through the bouncing crowd with Dean in the lead. He reached back and took Castiel’s hand with a small smile, and then led Cas up the stairs to the second floor balcony area. Here there was a small bar set up, as well as a large table set up along the rail for the Judges to sit at and look down at the stage below. Dean nudged Cas once and gestured to the Judges with a smile, then brought them both over to the bar. Dean didn’t let go of Castiel’s hand until they were both leaning against the bar facing each other.

For a moment all Dean did was look into Castiel’s eyes and smile. Finally Dean leaned close, nudging his nose against the side of Castiel’s head as he spoke near his ear, low and breathy. “What do you want?”

Castiel moved back abruptly to look Dean in the eye, a befuddled look on his face as the color came up on his cheeks again. Dean leaned closer and smiled a little, the edge of his lip pulling up ever so slightly. Dean’s eyes dropped to Castiel’s lips and he mouthed the question again. Castiel hesitated and swallowed then caught the bar tender standing near them just on the other side of the bar. “Oh….bourbon please, no ice….”

Dean gave a satisfied nod, and repeated the info to the bartender. As they waited Dean gave Castiel a quick wink and a smile, then kept his eyes on the bartender. When the bartender returned, Dean passed her two drink vouchers and a five dollar bill. The woman nodded with a smiling thanks and turned away. Dean handed Castiel his drink, but held his up as if he were about to make a toast.  He didn’t say anything but instead moved his arm around Castiel’s so their faces were close and their arms were linked as they took their first sip. Dean leaned in again when they were done and said, “Cheers”

They wandered over to a place along the rail edge where they could see the current band playing. It was ‘The Sanctified’ and they were belting out an original song. The lyrics seemed to be about two people growing up together and then the loss of one somehow. Dean pointed to the pedals their guitarist had set up and seemed to suddenly understand what the guy was doing to get a particular sound. They stood there until the end of ‘The Sanctified’s set, just taking in the music and the crowd’s reactions. Dean had a pleased look on his face, as if what he was expecting from the band was what he got. When he looked back at Castiel during the break as ‘The Sanctified’ took down their gear to make way for the last band of that night, Castiel had an odd look in his eyes.

Before Dean could say anything, Castiel reached over to lean up near Dean’s ear. He spoke softly but couldn’t stop the warm rumble in his chest from coming through in his voice. “I’ve been following your career…for over a year or two now. I’ve seen Slaughter House Four play out live six times. I was there in Rockford when the crowd threw things at the stage. I was there in Kansas City when those girls in front cried and screamed in their excitement to hear you all play. And I was there in Joplin when the power died, and you and Sam and Benny sang your last three songs acapella with just Benny rapping out the cadence on the edge of the stage and you playing your heart out that old acoustic guitar…. You shine like a beacon on stage Dean, your voice is like brown sugar and whiskey and gold sunsets. And your music, the band, your friends, it’s all so wonderful…..”

Dean pulled back a little in astonishment; the blush on his cheeks back in full force now, freckles dark against the bright skin. His eyes were shining and wide, gold flecks glittering in the shimmering green. And his heart was pounding hard in his chest. “You….how did I miss....I never saw you….”

“I always wore a trench coat…stayed at the back, hid. I didn’t want to be recognized. Couldn’t be seen.” Castiel reached up then to cup Dean’s jaw gently. He stroked a thumb across Dean’s cheek, feeling the heat there. “I have to go.”

“N…no… what….wait….” Caught off guard, Dean was slow to try to grab for Castiel, to hold him there. Cas slipped past his reach.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Dean Winchester!” Cas called back, then vanished down the stairs.

Dean’s jaw went slack and he gripped the railing with his free hand. His vision was a little dazed, his glass empty in his hand. He sucked in a fast breath and his eyes drifted to the stage. The last band of the night was nearly done setting up. “But you didn’t stay to hear the last band Cas…..”

Then suddenly it hit him why Cas hadn’t stayed and a huge grin spread across his face. “Of course! I completely forgot! I’m such an idiot…..”

He made his way back to the bar, got a beer and then returned to his spot on the rail. Smiling like the world was made of rainbows and his favourite pie, Dean looked intently down at the stage.

A large drum array was set up including a timpani drum and a xylophone in the back center. On either side of the stage, two large keyboard constructs were erected and Dean knew if Sam were here he would be going crazy over them. There was also an upright bass on stage. Soon a dark skinned man came up on stage and took his place behind the drums. He was followed by another dark skinned man who took his place behind one of the massive keyboard set ups, then Michael came onstage and took his place behind the other keyboard set up. Finally the very tanned blond man was on the stage with a flute in his hands, followed by Castiel who went to the upright bass and slid his left hand up along it’s throat.

The announcer came over the venue speakers, “Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests and judges, Free Will Records and The Ninth Circle ask you to welcome…… SERAPHIM!!”

Castiel glanced up at Dean as Seraphim launched into their first song. Dean raised his beer to Castiel and gave him a pleased nod. But even at that distance, Castiel could see something warm and excited shining in Dean’s eyes. Castiel returned the nod, then flashed a knowing smile up at Dean.

That smile lingered on Castiel’s face well into the sixth song of their set.

 

 

**(to be continuued)**


	9. Songs from the Wood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are interested in hearing the song Castiel sings to Dean.......
> 
> Jethro Tull - Songs from the Wood = http://youtu.be/P2MgU7PNHgw

 

St. Louis – The Ninth Circle

 

Seraphim’s set lasted well over the two-hour slot once they went into their encores. Dean was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed their music in spite of the their prim delivery on stage. Their music was a cross between Jethro Tull’s rock story telling sensibility and Philip Glass’ floating softness. It had elements of Celtic traditional music thrown in and occasionally some South American rhythms. There were syncopated drumbeats paired with synthesizer sounds but classical chord progression as well.

The blond man on the flute had a surprising skill in impromptu beat boxing as he played, which always got a sour look thrown at him from Michael. It was obviously not part of their rehearsed set. Dean decided he liked that guy, whoever he was.

Except for the very beginning when Castiel exchanged a look with Dean, Castiel kept his eyes closed the rest of their set. Dean learned by watching that Cas not only physically appears to lose himself in what he is doing as his hands stroke and flutter over the bass, he seems to slip into another space within himself as well. All the expressiveness that seems lost on Castiel’s socially exposed face is reversed, and his whole being comes alive. It is as if he gives himself over to the rapture of it all, as if this is his religion, his spiritual communion. Dean finds it impossible to look away most of the time, his breath caught halfway in his chest.

Dean’s theory of the Jethro Tull influence is confirmed when their last encore is a cover of “Songs from The Wood”. The acapella intro are Michael singing the main vocal, the other man behind the other massive keyboard array and the their percussionist doing the backing vocals.

 

_“Let me bring you songs from the wood…_  
        To make you feel much better than you could know…..  
        (better than you could know…)   
  
_Dust you down from tip to toe._   
_(dust you down from tip to toe…)_

_Show you how the garden grows.  
        (show you how the garden grows!)_

_Hold you steady as you go._   
_(hold steady as you go)_

_Join the chorus if you can….  
        It'll make of you an honest man…..”_

Their harmony is perfect, as if singing a chorus like this was second nature to them. Dean is taken aback a moment with the beauty of it all, and then he sees Castiel. Castiel who is looking right at him, singing along as well even though he has no mic and gifting the lyrics directly to Dean alone.

 

_“Let me bring you love from the field...._   
_Poppies red and roses filled with summer rain. To heal the wound and still the pain…._   
_That threatens again and again…. as you drag down every lover's lane….”_

 

Even when the bass picks up and comes in, Castiel’s eyes are only on Dean, his whole focus…..Dean.

 

_“Life's long celebration's here. I'll toast you all in penny cheer._   
_Let me bring you all things refined: galliards and lute songs served in chilling ale._   
_Greetings well met fellow, hail!_   
_I am the wind to fill your sail…..  
        I am the cross to take your nail….”_

It’s intensely intimate out in this public space in this huge room crowded with hundreds of other people, and yet for Dean it feels as if it is just the two of them. As if the rest of the place falls away and all there is now are Dean, Cas and the music. Even as the lyrics end and the music swells and Castiel’s hands are only for his instrument, his focus is still Dean. And the smile that was there before is replaced by something more, something extraordinary. Dean feels swept away and he has to keep a firm lock on his hold of the rail or fall over.

 

_“Let me bring you songs from the wood…_  
         _To make you feel much better than you could know…..”_

Dean has never felt anything like this before in his life. It as if he’s been in some dark awful place and is now being lifted up, light, freed…. saved. Gripped tight and raised, inside and out.

 

_“Songs from the wood (song from the wood)….make you feel….much better…..”_

When the song was over, the crowd erupted in shouts, cheers and applause. Dean felt himself buffeted by it as if it were a physical wave. Castiel broke their connection, and stepped to the edge of the stage with the rest of Seraphim to link hands and take a bow. Then they were exiting the stage and moving off to go downstairs into the dressing rooms below.

Dean felt himself breathing again, felt his legs become steady once more. He pushed away from the rail and felt giddy, as if he could start laughing and never want to stop just because it felt good. He turned and headed for the stairs, nearly running. His face was split by a huge smile.

At the bottom of the stairs he collided with his brother, and he instantly yanked Sam into a boisterous hug. “Weren’t they amazing Sam?!”

“Yea but Dean….” Sam looked perplexed, yet happy to see Dean in such a great mood.

“And I know you saw their keyboards, can you believe all the stuff they had hooked up there? I’m never giving you shit about your set up again….” Dean laughed.

“Yea but Dean…” Sam speared him with an insistent look, “Dean, what happened to ‘they are the competition’ huh? You were so pissed at me about Ruby being in another band and now….??” Sam lifted his hands in an expression that said ‘well?’.

Dean stopped. Gravity came up fast underneath him and slammed into him, knocking that heady buoyant feeling away. His smile dissolved.

Sam lowered his eyes a moment and reached out with both hands to place them on Dean’s shoulders, “Don’t stop being happy and don’t stop enjoying what’s happening tonight. Just….” Sam took in a breath, “See that it doesn’t have to be ‘us’ or ‘them’. If we win this, great. But if we don’t….”

Dean looked into his brother’s eyes, “If we don’t??” There was an edge of panic there.

“Then we just don’t. Life goes on. We’ll keep going and find a way to get where we want to be.” Sam smiled then, warm and comforting. “Dean, you always say life is short….well….follow your own advice. We shouldn’t let freaking out over some competition get in the way of experiencing good stuff like new friends and new relationships. All the great stuff that we are going through now, even if we lose….” Sam laughed, “Dean even if we lose, we win here already.”

Dean got it. Dean got it what Sam was saying and suddenly gravity was unlocked and that weightless joy washed back up into Dean again, “When did you get so wise Sammy?”

Sam just chuffed, “Blame Bobby for telling me to quit being an idjit.”

Dean glanced around then, noticing Ruby was not there, “So ah, where’d Ruby go?”

Sam chuckled, “She had to take off. Meg locked herself out of their hotel room and lost her purse or something….” Sam gave a helpless shrug, “They have an early day tomorrow anyway. And I’ll see her for lunch.” He grinned.

“So have you seen Garth, or Kevin or Benny or Rufus?” Dean asked.

“Kevin and Garth left after Seraphim’s set was over to hit up some diner before they crashed. Rufus is back at the hotel already and Benny…..” Sam gave Dean an odd smile and pointed over to one of the booths along the wall. Dean followed with his eyes, needing to lean around Sam a bit to see.

Benny was sitting with his arm around a lovely blonde girl. They were talking and laughing, their heads close together, their hands lingering in their touching. Benny would nudge in close, say something into her ear and she would laugh with her head thrown back. Then Benny would nudge his nose against her cheek and she would just smile. They looked beyond friendly, and if Dean didn’t know better, he would have thought this was someone Benny had known a while. The gruff soft spoken man usually didn’t get that close that fast to people he just met.

“Does she look familiar to you?” Sam turned with Dean, looking.

“Yea, kinda but….I’m not placing her…..” Dean tapped Sam’s arm with the back of his hand and slipped through the crowd to get closer. Sam nimbly followed. When Dean was about twelve feet away, he pulled up quickly and ducked sideways, pulling Sam with him.

“Who is it?!” Sam half laughed at how Dean was reacting.

“Its Christina Ronald….”Dean gestured with his hand, as if it would jog Sam’s memory. “The Executive Manager of Free Will Records…?!”

“Oh.” Sam said, then, “OHHHH”

“She’s like, not one of the judges so….” Dean looked at Sam.

“So we aren’t influencing the outcome of the auditions or the contest by y’know…”Sam looked at Dean.

“Letting Benny…..”Dean smirked.

“Y’know.” They both said at the same time.

Sam schooled his face and stifled his chuckling, “Okay…really, it’s not any of our business and if Benny’s found someone to hook up with….good on him.”

“Right….right….” Dean brought his hand up and wiped the smirk away. “Right. Respectful. Before Benny hears us and rips our throats out.” Dean said this with a serious tone yet the smile on his face was still bright and playful.

Sam gave him a good-natured slap on the arm, “Look, we have a big day tomorrow. I’m heading back to the hotel to get some sleep. Try not to wake the rest of us when you stumble in at 5am half undressed okay?”

“No promises Sammy.” Dean gave him a wink that also pulled the edge of his smile up at the same time.

They parted, Sam heading for the exit and Dean working his way towards the stage and the dressing rooms below. He was halfway there, moving against the crowd as most people were filing out, when a shorter man in a baseball cap pressed a piece of paper into Dean’s hand. The man tipped the brim of his cap and smirked. Dean could see the guy had a dark outrageous almost fake looking moustache, light brown hair that dusted the back of his neck, and twinkling gold brown eyes. Dean frowned at the paper and was about to ask the man what was going on, when the crowd jostled them. Dean had to turn to keep his footing, while the other man ducked and was absorbed into the flow of the crowd. Quickly he was gone.

Dean found himself at the edge of the stage now and the crowd finally thinning out. He looked down, unfolded the paper and read what was written there:

 

_‘Dean,_

_Had to pack up our instruments so we can be at the charity function tomorrow. I am staying at the same hotel you are, meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes._

_\- Castiel_   
_(p.s. use the fire escape door, I’ll have it propped open for you)’_

Dean felt his heart hammer like a marching band making it’s way through a homecoming parade. He shoved the note into his jean pocket and began to head for the exit. He was nearly there, moving along with the last of the crowd when someone gripped hold of his arm. He felt himself yanked sideways and backed against the wall next to the door.

Suddenly red hair and furious grey eyes were in his face, red lips curled into a snarl.

_Josie Sands._

“Tell your little brother to back off Ruby!!” She was nearly spitting she was so furious.

“….the fuck…. look I already tried that route and it didn’t work….”Dean shoved her hands off of him and stepped up into her space. He squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes, “Sam does what he wants.” Dean gave a thoughtful look, curving the edges of his mouth down and rolling his eyes up a bit, “Which I guess that means doing Ruby…..”

Josie shoved back with a good deal of strength in her. She crowded Dean back against the wall again, pressing her perfectly manicured nail into the center of his chest, “I guess you think you’re pretty funny, turning the tables on me. Keeping Sam from joining Perdition while you lure Ruby off to join Slaughter House Four!!”

“Wait…what?!” Dean blinked. “What the hell are you talking about??”

“Don’t play dumb with me Winchester. You knew I was trying to get Sam to join our band, knew I sent Ruby to seduce him, draw him into our group. How did you get to Ruby?! How did you get her to quit ‘Perdition’?!” Josie was beyond furious now.

“Whoa….whoa….”Dean looked at her sidelong, “You sent Ruby to try to get Sam to quit our band and join yours?!”

“Yes!” She barked.

“Are you crazy?! Sam would never quit Slaughter House Four….. playing music, rocking things? It’s the family business.” Dean huffed out. “And if Ruby is leaving Perdition, that’s her own choice. Sam and I have nothing to do with it. Did she like, quit outright tonight?”

Josie leaned back, and her anger deflated. Her lip pouted out, “No. She said she would stay with us until the competition was over and then she wanted out. She said she wants to go back to school…”

Dean lifted his hands in a helpless gesture, “Lady, I had nothing to do with that. I admit, I wasn’t happy when I heard they had a thing going, but Sam is a grown up and Ruby is a grown up and….” He just gave a big slow shrug with his shoulders.

“Fine.” She glowered at Dean, “Fine. But I still don’t like you.”

And with that she was marching off. Dean took in a long breath and let it out again. He rubbed the back of his neck slowly and meandered out the exit, out onto the sidewalk. He paused a moment and looked up. Above him the sky was clear and wide, free of clouds. The city lights washed out a lot of the stars, but the moon was coming in. It waxed just high enough on the horizon to be seen, but just low enough that Dean felt he could almost touch it. He took in another breath and felt his spirits soar up again. Then he turned and looked across the way to the hotel. His eyes roamed up to the roof and he smiled.

Time to keep his appointment.

 

**(to be continued)**


	10. Old Devil Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Links to the music in this chapter:  
> Glen Miller - Moonlight Serenade ---- http://youtu.be/n92ATE3IgIs  
> Jackson Browne - Load/Out - Stay ---- http://youtu.be/7UC4SLsPQic  
> Dinah Washinton - What a Difference a Day Made ---- http://youtu.be/OmBxVfQTuvI  
> Frank Sinatra - Old Devil Moon ---- http://youtu.be/i0ub2wO_NZ8

 

 

St Louis – The Millennium Hotel

 

Castiel took the steps nearly two at a time. He was up through the emergency stair well heading for the roof as quickly as his legs allowed. The top of the Millennium Hotel was actually a restaurant, which was closed this time of night, but Castiel easily found a propped open emergency exit leading to the stair well and took it. It was one flight up, and then another door that was also left open. Castiel pushed past that onto the roof.

The roof itself was actually uninspiring and ugly at first glance. Industrial and cold, with massive air conditioning units humming near him when he stepped out. The surface was rough gravel and grated for drainage, and cement step slabs had been placed for walking. Those lead to an area designated as “emergency rescue staging area” and then it wound around the corner of the A/C units beyond. There was a slight ledge type wall that rimmed the roof made of metal sheets reinforced with steel supports. From this side of the roof, all Castiel could see was downtown St Louis to his left. The A/C units blocked the view of the Arch and the moon at his right from where he currently stood.

It wasn’t very romantic.

Castiel followed the maintenance walkway around the corner of the A/C machines and then followed along the sides of those until he came to the middle of the roof. On the other side of the A/C units, the roof stretched away flat, open to the sky and a view of the Arch.

On the other side of the roof near the edge that overlooked the park and the Arch, Castiel could see someone had set up a sort of tent like structure. It was white, with tiny Christmas tree lights dotting all over its form, and lit with a warm glow from the other side. As Castel approached, he could hear music floating through the air towards him. He recognized Glen Miller’s ‘Moonlight Serenade’ drifting through the air and he smiled.

Castiel slipped off his outer tuxedo jacket and walked around to the other side of the small tent. It was three sided, open to face the Arch and the moon. A large white thick shag carpet spread out under it, and there was a low Moroccan settee underneath piled with pillows and round fat bolster cushions. Candles flickered in low swaying glass lanterns hanging from the tent supports and audio speakers were poised at the four corners. In contrast to the other side of the roof, this was very romantic and inviting.

“Hello Dean.” Castiel couldn’t help the small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth when he saw the other man.

Dean was sitting at the edge of the carpet, pulling off his boots and socks. He looked up at Castiel, slightly startled. “Oh my god Cas, I didn’t hear you walk up…..” His face expressed a little unease, but Dean’s eyes still flickered with something warm and happy.

Castiel stepped out of his shoes onto the thick furry carpet and then pulled off his socks as well. The pile on the carpet was luxurious and felt wonderful against his bare toes. He moved one foot slowly through it, enjoying the sensation.

Dean stood up, “Nice set up you have here.”

Castiel canted his head slightly to the side and a puzzled expression came over his face, “I don’t understand….. You set this all up.”

Dean’s brow furrowed slightly, “Uh, no. I was given a note…from you. It said to meet you up here….I thought you had set this all up…..”

Castiel looked down and rummaged into the interior pocket of his tux jacket. He pulled out a similar piece of paper to the one Dean had been given by the strange man. “But….I received a note from you…..it was left in my upright bass case in the dressing rooms.” Castiel handed it to Dean.

Dean took it and opened it. It was written in the same handwriting as Dean’s note and it read:

 

_‘Cas,_

_Ninth Circle is kinda crowded. I am staying at the same hotel you are, meet me on the roof in fifteen minutes._

_-Dean_   
_(p.s. use the fire escape door, I’ll have it propped open for you)’_

 

“I didn’t write this….” Dean handed it back to Cas, and then pulled his own note from his jean pocket and gave it over.

Castiel opened the note Dean had been given and his frown now mirrored Dean’s. “This isn’t my handwriting. I don’t know who sent these….” He returned the note to Dean, then shoved his own note into his trouser pocket.

Dean shrugged and dragged one foot through the thick shag of the carpet, “Weird.” He paused and then said, “I mean, not that I mind or anything….. I’m happy to see you…..just….”

“It’s suspicious to say the least.” Castiel shifted his tux jacket from one hand to the next. “Perhaps we should leave.”

At that moment the music coming from the speakers shifted and began to play [Jackson Browne’s ‘Load/Out – Stay’](http://youtu.be/7UC4SLsPQic). Both Castiel and Dean looked at the speaker closest to them, and both of their brows went up at the same time.

“I think whoever set this up wants us here Cas…..”A little smile broke over Dean’s face, “And it’s nice here….just you and me….” Dean cast a look sideways towards Castiel and his smile grew a little bigger.

Castiel looked at the speaker a bit longer, then lifted his head and looked around. He watched behind them back by the air conditioning units a moment, then looked out to the downtown sprawled out beyond that. Then he brought his gaze around to the park spread out in front of them and the Arch looming with its beautiful silver sheen stretching into the air. Then Castiel looked to the moon and then to Dean. He let out a soft sigh.

It was perfect in every way.

Castiel tossed his jacket lightly to the carpet and began to unbutton his waistcoat. Once that was undone, he removed it and let it join the jacket. As he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt he looked back at Dean, and the small smile began to creep back across his mouth. “Well whoever they are, they have an interesting flair for choosing the background music.”

Dean chuckled and slipped off his plaid outer shirt, dropping it near Castiel’s tux jacket, “I like it. It fits.” The air was warm here, but not too much so. Dean stepped a bit closer to Castiel, “Speaking of music, I really enjoyed Seraphim’s performance tonight.”

Castiel’s deep blue gaze met Dean’s flickering green one and the smile began to spread by little increments. “Did you really?”

Dean moved a half step sideways, then shifted so he and Castiel were no more than a foot apart, “I did. I think your skill on that bass is really impressive.”

Castiel ducked his head down, a light blush brightened on his cheeks and his smile broke wide open. “Thank you Dean, that means a lot coming from you. I think you are pretty extraordinary on the guitar….”

“You’re being kind Cas. Your dedication and passion for the music shines through so much when you play, “ Dean carefully reached out and slipped his fingers down Castiel’s arm so they came to land into the crook of Cas’s hand a bare moment before retreating. “I’d love to hear what you can do on an electric bass….”

Castiel’s eyes blinked up to meet Dean’s gaze at that brief touch, and he found himself making a half step towards the other man. “We should get together some time, improvise on some pieces and play together.”

Dean swallowed a little and drew in a breath. With it came Castiel’s scent; a slight hint of bow rosin and amber wood, the crisp smell of the freshly laundered tux, the scent of something else earthy like tea or spice and finally a more distinct musky scent under the clean smell of soap. Dean leaned just bit closer to drink all that in a second time. “I’d like to do that a lot Cas.” He leveled his eyes directly into those deep blue irises, “I think we’d have a lot of fun….playing together.”

Their proximity was well within each other’s personal space boundaries now, and the slow warming smile washing over Dean’s face was having an intoxicating effect on Castiel. He felt pulled towards the other man, as if in a dream. Being this close to Dean after watching him from afar for so long made the moment feel ethereal.

“What would you like to….play….together?” Castiel could feel his cheeks peaking with color.

Dean took in another deep breath and it was as if drawing in that air also drew him against Castiel. Dean’s hands slid up Castiel’s arms, and then back down again. Light smoothing caresses repeated three more times as he spoke, “I like a lot of things.”

“Yes?” Castiel said but he was so lost in Dean’s eyes now he wasn’t sure what they were talking about anymore. He felt his own hands following their own course of action, straying out to finger the edges of Dean’s t-shirt at his sides.

“I like Led Zeppelin a lot…..” Dean’s hands kept moving along Castiel’s arms, lingering against the bare skin on the forearms, squeezing slightly when they came up on Cas’s shoulders, “Metallica is fun, Steppenwolf….classic rock stuff….”

“Yes, those….those are good.” Castiel dropped his gaze to Dean’s lips and they looked perfect and delicious and waiting. Castiel could feel a bubbling tension working its way through his gut. Somewhere his higher brain mapped out the distance that needed closing between the two of them and it laid down a very good series of arguments why kissing Dean was the best possible course of action right now. But Castiel felt suspended in the moment and he could only stare wide-eyed at what he wanted.

“Jethro Tull is good too….”When Dean said it, his voice came out low and soft and Castiel could see those green eyes dip and hone in on Castiel’s mouth. Their breath mingled and Dean came in more so their noses brushed. He sang ever so softly and let his breath dance over Castiel’s lips. “Let me bring you love from the field: poppies red and roses filled with summer rain…..”

Castiel’s mind went haywire as a skittering jolt of electricity sparked where their noses skimmed against each other. His stomach instantly clenched, and the rest of him froze. Dean was going to kiss him. Here, under the moon, under the sky, in this beautiful perfect night. [Dinah Washington’s voice came over the speakers](http://youtu.be/OmBxVfQTuvI) and Castiel was sure he’d lost his mind.

_“What a difference……a day made……twenty-four little hours……”_

Castiel could feel Dean’s smile near his mouth as Dean said, “Yea. Good music…” before Dean caught up Castiel’s lips with his own. Dean had scooped down and then up, capturing Castiel’s mouth with a light swoop that surged Dean against him. Dean hummed with delight as he deepened the kiss and pulled Cas into his arms. Castiel felt as if he was melting and boiling over all at once. The electric spark from the touch of their noses now showered Castiel’s whole being with fizzing energy and the tension in his stomach was pulled taught into something he recognized as deeply sexual as well as emotional.

They clung to each other and kissed breathlessly through the rest of that song and into the next one, drunk on the feel of their mouths, the tug and pull of their hands on each other and the warm sounds rumbling up from in their throats. They sunk to their knees and then somehow to their sides, tangled together by lip, arm, hip and thigh. They kissed wantonly until they couldn’t breathe anymore and then broke apart with heady laughter to hug each other.

 “Cas….” Dean said it with such affection Castiel almost thought he might tear up. “I’m so glad I met you yesterday….”

All Castiel could do was blush bright and unashamed. He pulled Dean in for another kiss, then another four more, then another twelve more. They kissed again until their lips were swollen and sore and they began to shiver with the intoxication of it. 

After a while, Dean glanced over to the settee nearby and an idea danced across his face. He sat up, then stood and pulled Castiel with him. Keep hold of Castiel, he brought them over to the settee and took hold of one of the blankets draped over it. He handed that one to Castiel, then picked up two more. The settee was nearly eight feet in length and about three feet deep. It could be more spacious but it would do. He collapsed down onto it, pulling Castiel with him. They arranged the blankets over themselves and curled up close together. [Frank Sinatra’s ‘Old Devil Moon’](http://youtu.be/i0ub2wO_NZ8) played out over the speakers as they settled.

Dean tucked Castiel’s head against his cheek and said in a low voice, “Seems like things are moving fast here huh?”

Castiel nodded, “Yes, actually but….” He paused and took in a quivering breath, “….I’m okay with it…..”

“Are you sure?” Dean offered.

“I’m no virgin Dean.” Castiel pulled back to look at him.

“I didn’t think you were….” Dean quirked one brow up, “But not everyone is cool with getting cozy like this before their first date.”

“I thought this was out first date…..” Castiel said with all seriousness, his face almost dour. “Kidnapping, drinking alcohol, serenading one in a public space, spooning under the moon….”

“Spooning under the moon?” Dean laughed out but with no malice.

“Yes.” Castiel pinched his mouth tight, “That all sounds like a date to me.”

“Do you often have kidnapping involved in your first dates?” Dean’s couldn’t hide his mirth.

“No, that’s fairly unique but….”Castiel pushed up a bit so he was propped up on one elbow. “I’m being quite serious here Dean. We may have a problem on our hands.”

“And what is that?” Dean smiled up at Cas.

“I don’t want to disappoint you if our second date isn’t as wonderful.” Castiel dropped his eyes now. One hand pressed gently over Dean’s heart and Cas sighed.

Dean watched him a long moment, his eyes dancing and his cheeks warm. Finally he said, “I don’t think there is any way you could disappoint me Cas….Plus….” Dean reached up and tugged Castiel back down so that he could lick against the seam of Cas’s lips before saying, “I can think of a lot of fun things we can do next time.” To illustrate, Dean’s voice went lower as he moved his hips against Castiel, his arms hold firm. He let a small clipped breathy sound escape his throat and Cas thought it was possibly the sexiest sound he had ever heard.

Castiel dropped down to brush his mouth against the side of Dean’s neck, just under his ear where the hairline was soft and downy. “We don’t have to wait until our second date for that if you don’t want to…..” He let the words rumbled out from low in his chest and Dean groaned outright in reply.

“I think I’ve waited too long to get my hands on you as it is…..” Dean’s hands were suddenly slipping under Castiel’s shirt to get at the skin there, as if he had been holding back and waiting for the green light to go go go….

They were halfway done peeling their shirts off of each other when Dean’s cell phone let off a loud insistent sound from the pocket of his jeans. Cursing under his breath, he quickly explained that was his brother Sam, and if it wasn’t truly important Sam would not be bothering Dean.

“He knows I’m up here with you so….”Dean said apologetically, then thumbed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear, “What’s up Sam?”

“It’s Rufus…Dean you have to come down here now!” Sam’s voice was agitated, “I’ve called the front desk and 911….the ambulance is on its way now….”

“Ambulance? What does Rufus need an ambulance for??” Dean was pushing up off the settee and shoving the blankets aside.

“He was shot….”Sam was muffled but Dean could hear noise coming over the phone from wherever Sam was.

“He was what?!” Dean was on his feet now, heading to his boots. He began pulling them on without his socks on. “Shot?!” Behind him Castiel was getting his shoes on as well, and gathering up the rest of their clothing. When Dean said the word ‘shot’, Castiel paused, worry flashing over his face.

“Some guy came up to him in the hallway near the elevators, pulled a gun, shot him. He came back to the room….”Sam pulled away from the phone. Dean could hear the EMTs asking Sam questions.

Dean ended the call, then texted to Sam: ON MY WAY

When Dean looked up, Castiel was waiting for him on the maintenance walkway. “I’m coming with you.” was all Castiel said. Dean leapt up and they fled down stairs as quickly as they could.

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	11. Keep Me Flying

 

St Louis – St Louis University Hospital

 

Dean paced. The E.R. waiting room was like a thousand others in the country, or at least that’s what Dean speculated. Right now, he didn’t care about those trivialities. Rufus had been shot in the shoulder, near the ball and socket, at close range. The bone had shattered and while it wasn’t life threatening, Rufus was going to be in for a long painful recovery. They were all waiting now as Rufus was being brought out of surgery. Dean hadn’t wanted to leave until Rufus was settled in his room.

Around him the rest of the band was in various states of waiting. Sam was on his phone texting Ruby canceling their lunch plans. Benny had arrived with Christina Ronald and they were sipping coffee and talking quietly in the corner. The look of concern on Benny’s face was echoed on hers. Near them, Kevin snoozed. The young man was folded up into one of the chairs with an armrest, his hands tucked up against his chest. Garth was as fidgety as Dean, making back and forth trips to the vending machines around the corner for coffee or snacks. He just kept buying things and bringing them in for other people, sometimes just giving them to strangers in the waiting room whose loved ones had been brought in to the E.R.

And then there was Castiel. The second they had arrived; Castiel had taken charge of being right up at the admitting desk dealing with the paper work and information. He was the one flagging down nurses for updates and keeping an eye on the hallways for when Rufus had been transferred from an E.R. bay to the elevators on his way into surgery. Dean appreciated all this in ways he couldn’t even begin to vocalize. He wanted to walk over to Cas and wrap his arms around the man, and just bury his face into Castiel’s shoulder. He held back though, deciding that falling apart now was probably not going to help Rufus or the rest of the band.

Garth returned yet again from another foray out into the hall, this time with a police officer in tow. Garth walked over and nudged Kevin awake and the three of them began to talk. Dean made his way over to learn what was going on. The officer was asking Kevin about Rufus’ actions prior to leaving the hotel room just before he was shot. Kevin hesitated a moment, looking at Dean first, and then at Garth.

“Go on, tell him.” Garth nodded gently and encouragingly.

“Well, Garth and I had gone to that diner and on our way back we went down into the parking garage to check on the vans and Dean’s car…..” Kevin began to nervously clench and unclench his hands around the chair’s armrests. “We saw one of the van doors standing open…..”

“What?!” Dean shot a look to Garth who hushed him quietly.

“…and when we looked in side to see if anything had been taken, we saw that Rufus’ bass was gone.” Kevin looked completely miserable now. “So we called Rufus and asked him if he had his bass…..and he said no….and then he said he’d be right down….”

“That’s when I called the hotel front desk and reported the theft….” Garth noted.

“I see.” The officer was making notes in his pad, “So Mr Turner left the hotel room and was on his way down to the garage where you were.”

“Yea.” Kevin dropped his eyes, “We should have told him to stay put, then he wouldn’t have…”

“Don’t go there Kev. What’s done is done.” Garth reached out and gave Kevin’s shoulder a tender supportive pat.

“What happened next?” The officer continued.

“Garth and I were waiting down in the garage, and Rufus comes stumbling towards us. His shoulder was all…” Kevin reached his right hand over his left shoulder and made a circular motion while grimacing, “There was all this blood….”

The officer nodded, “We have the security camera footage from the hotel hallway, the elevators and the garage. On it we saw Mr. Turner wait for the elevator and as he did, another man approached, they seemed to recognize each other and there was an exchange of words. Mr. Turner raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but right after that the other man pulled a pistol. Mr. Turner is seen on camera grabbing for the gun to bring it up as it fires. The other man then broke away running down the hall. Mr. Turner then got on the elevator and took it down to the garage area.”

“Did the garage security camera catch who broke into the van?” Dean asked.

“The suspects were wearing masks and hoods. We don’t have any identification on them as of yet, but the investigation is open.” The officer replied. “The man who shot Mr. Turner however is on the FBI’s most wanted list. He’s a fugitive we’ve been looking for since 2002. The FBI had thought the man had fled the country but now we have an excellent lead on him. The hotel cameras were able to track him leaving the hotel and moving down into Laclède's Landing. We’ll keep you all updated, and we ask you come down to the station on Monday to fill out some paperwork.” The officer excused himself then and left.

“When were you going to call me and tell me about the missing bass?” Dean frowned at Kevin and Garth.

“I told them not to Dean….” Sam was at Dean’s side now, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “I figured we could sort it out and not bother you since….you know…” Sam looked over to Castiel who was now in the hallway nodding and listening to one of the nurses.

Dean pressed his fingers into his eyes and tried to rub the dry tiredness out of them. He took a deep breath and let it out, trying to keep from shaking. “Yea. Borrowing a replacement bass for Rufus would have been easy. So yea….it’s okay you didn’t tell me…it’s just….man.” Dean looked defeated. He looked over at Benny, and caught the other man’s eye. He motioned for Benny to come over and to bring Christina.

When the band was all huddled close, Dean took a moment and looked up at the ceiling. The green of his eyes was washed out to nearly gray. He swallowed, and brought his gaze back down to the rest of his band.

“Replacing a bass guitar….that’s easy. I’m sure we could have scrambled one together on short notice. Ash could have bargained for one from one of the other bands or we could have hunted down another one at a pawn shop or a music store someplace nearby. But replacing Rufus on short order….” Dean let that sink in a moment. Sam’s eyes dropped to his feet while Garth merely frowned deeply. Kevin looked utterly miserable while Benny’s eyes just shifted silently to Christina. She said nothing, merely watching quietly without judgment.

Dean continued, and his voice waivered, “Finding another bass player who knows our material and knows our style at this late point in the auditions is going to be impossible….. I think we’ll have to drop out of the competition.”

“Would Rufus want you to quit now?” Castiel’s voice came from behind Dean and everyone turned now to look at him. He repeated his question, “Would Rufus want you to quit now?”

“No, he wouldn’t.” Benny spoke up quickly.

Dean shot Benny a look, “Seriously? Do you think it’s right to go one without him?”

“Yea, I do. And he would too.” Benny faced Dean and with a grave look in his eyes he said, “Dean, he wanted this for us. For you and for Sam…  because of John. If we quit now Rufus’ll tan all our hides from here ‘til the end of time. He’ll be furious and call us sissy boys and mock us ‘til th’ day he dies. I’m not livin’ with that.” Benny held up his hands in mock fear.

“So fine, we don’t drop out. But we still need a bass player.” Sam said.

“You’ll have one.” Castiel spoke again. His voice was filled with complete confidence.

“Oh?” Benny lifted his brow. “Who?”

“Me.” Castiel tilted his chin up, and the barest hint of a smile ghosted at the corners of his mouth.

“But you play upright bass.” Sam looked puzzled.

“Not just.” Dean looked hard at Castiel, the green of his eyes flaring back brightly, “He plays other stuff too. And you know our material don’t you Cas?”

“I do. As I told Dean, I’ve seen you play live six times. I’ve been following the band for a few years now. I know your style and your music.” Castiel allowed a pleased look to cross his features.

“That’s convenient….” Benny’s eyes narrowed, “So you’ve been stalking us? Did you have something to do with Rufu’s missing bass?!” a growl came out of Benny and Christina stopped him from pressing forward at Cas.

The genuine shock at Benny’s accusation was instant as Castiel’s eyes went wide and pale, “I would never….that’s….horrible…..”

“Settle down…..”Dean flicked his gaze at Benny, “Cas was with me when the bass was pinched. And yea, so….Cas may have been…..sorta… stalking…..but his interest in Slaughter House Four and our music is genuine.” Dean looked at Christina now, “If we take on a new member, will that be allowed in the audition rules?”

Christina slid her hand down Benny’s chest before she let go to look at Dean, “It’s within the rules, yes. You wouldn’t be penalized for a band member change.”

Dean turned to the rest of the band, “We vote. Is Cas in?”

Garth gave Castiel quick look, then nodded yes. Kevin kept his eyes on Dean and  also nodded yes. Benny glared at Castiel for another moment, then locked eyes with Dean. They traded an unspoken exchange, then Benny said, “Al’right.”

Sam faced Castiel and brought his hand up to his chin thoughtfully, “So Cas, on our song ‘Salt and Burn’…..in the third stanza just before the chorus kicks in, Rufus always does one subtle thing…..what is it?”

“He does a pitch change, and then he doubles down breaking the half notes into quarter notes during that chorus. When the chorus is over, he pitches back up again, moves to whole notes on the break and then back to half notes for the final stanza.” Castiel spoke calmly but there was a spark of delight in his eyes.

Sam smiled slowly and then asked, “And in the new one…Fangs and Kisses?”

“There is no bass line or drum. Benny comes to the front, take over the mic and the only backing is from you Sam on the keyboards.” Castiel replied, his head canting slightly to the left. “Though if you added a slightly heavier tonal quality to the final chorus repeat on the second and forth beats, it would make the reverb on Benny’s voice sound a bit more guttural and give it more sexual impact.”

Satisfied, Sam turned around to Dean with a smile, “Oh yea. I’m on board with this.”

“Could you all give Cas and I a minute?” Dean was reaching out to Cas to guide him out into the hall. When the rest of the band agreed, Dean touched Castiel’s arm and the two of them moved out of the waiting room and down the hall to the vending machines. There Dean paused and looked down to the toes of his boots a moment before he spoke.

“Are you sure you want to do this Cas? I can’t see your brothers being really happy with this….” Dean spoke softly.

Castiel let out a small short huff of a sound then brought his fingers under Dean’s chin to tip his face up. When their eyes met Cas said, “They’ll live. They survived my brother Gabriel leaving to become this scandalous continent hopping disc jockey. They survived my sister Anna leaving to do experimental performance art in the nude. Me leaving will be nothing. Raphael can pick up the bass parts on his Roland.” Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean’s torso. Then as he spoke his eyes danced as he let them wander across Dean’s face. “I told Gabriel not long ago that I wouldn’t leave Seraphim because I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to run TO something. I want to do this Dean. So much. And I’ll stay with Slaughter House Four as long as you have need of me.”

Dean reached up and carded his fingers through Castiel’s hair, “I do need you Cas.” And he crowned that with a brief kiss to the corner of Cas’s mouth, “You gonna be okay to do this….it’s 2am. You’ve got that charity thing in six hours and you haven’t slept and….”

“I’m right where I need to be.” Castiel kept his eyes intent on Dean, “Right where I want to be.”

The smile that flooded over Dean’s face could outshine a kid’s delight at Christmas. “Okay then.”

“Okay then.” Castiel pressed forward and bent Dean backwards slightly. He hovered a moment just looking at Dean’s lips before angling his head into a firm warm kiss. They held like that a while, trading lip locks and licks, holding each other close.

Until a nurse walked past, wolf-whistled and smiled in appreciation of their spectacle. They broke apart blushing furiously and retreated back into the waiting area.

His cheeks still full of color, Dean cleared his throat and addressed the rest of the band, “Okay so….Cas is in. And in spite of the bad things that have happened, we’re still on for tonight. I want you all to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. We’ll do a full run through in the practice room we used yesterday morning…I’ll see everyone there by twelve-thirty okay?”

Slaughter House Four all agreed, then one by one they said their good nights and left.

Castiel remained. He moved alongside Dean and slipped his hand into the other man’s. “Rufus is in his room….when the police officer was here, she told me he was settled in and resting. She said you may visit him tomorrow.”

Dean squeezed Cas’s hand in his, “You know Cas, it’s weird. I just met you, and wow…we’ve had a roller coaster for a first date…. But…. I just, I dunno. I should be freaking out and losing my shit. I should be going nuts and backing off all terrified at how fast this is all happening. I should be a mess.”

“But you’re not.” Castiel stated.

“No. I’m good. Really good. Maybe it’s like falling off a building. While you are falling it’s exhilarating… the wind whipping around you, like you’re flying….. and not scary until you see the bottom coming up fast to smack you in the face.” Dean shrugged.

Castiel began to tug Dean out of the waiting room towards the exit, “It’s possible. We just need to make sure you never see the ground. Like in that Douglas Adams book.”

“That’s right. Arthur Dent was distracted while he was falling…. So he didn’t fall at all.” Dean chuckled, “He flew.”

“So my job now is to keep your distracted…..” Castiel brought Dean’s hand up to his lips. He slowly parted them and suckled suggestively at Dean’s knuckles, “Keep you flying.”

“Oh god Cas that is very distracting….” Dean flushed a brighter shade of red. His skin tingled where Castiel’s lips warmed him.

They had made it halfway out to the parking structure where the Impala was. Castiel paused and leaned into Dean, brushing his mouth now against Dean’s ear. “Keep that in mind….it’s a promise. After tonight’s set….. nothing is going to keep my hands off you.” Castiel pulled away without another sound and walked off towards the waiting Impala.

Dean caught his breath in his throat and stumbled slightly when he went to follow. He was a little dizzy and his whole body was heated. He dug his keys out of his jean pocket and took a moment to calm himself as best as possible.

“Oh yea Cas, you are definitely going to keep me flying…”

 

**(to be continued)**


	12. Perdition

 

St. Louis – The Ninth Circle

 

Billy Bark and the Dawgs were as hard core a rock-a-billy band as you could get. Raucous beat thumping catchy hooks coupled with twangy guitar and snarly vocals. What was unexpected about the band was that they were an all girl group. Billy was a leggy blonde who favoured the Rosie The Riveter look and wailed on her Gibson Super 400. She was strutting across the stage of the Ninth Circle now, curling her lipstick red mouth into a haughty pucker as she slammed out her chords. Behind her their bass player was an adorably plump red head with cherries all over her dress and tattoos up her arms, and a serious talent for plucking out rhythms. Their drummer was a dark skinned beauty with a sharp smile and even sharper snare hits that wore an old NASA astronaut space jumper replica.

Dean stood with Sam at the edge of the doorway leading downstairs to the dressing rooms. From here they didn’t have the best view of the stage as they were on the sidelines and somewhat behind, but they still had a excellent vantage for the sound. If Dean shifted to his right more, he was able to move away from the wall and the door to see the front of the stage from an odd angle. Currently Sam was bouncing slightly to the beat and nodding his head in time with the song they were belting out. The lyrics were about packing up and leaving an abusive boyfriend, but the melody was light and springy. Dean just stood stock still and rubbed his chin with his hands, brow furrowed as he listened. They were on their last song and really giving it their all.

Sam leaned in and spoke close to Dean’s ear, “They’re good, but they should have done this one earlier in their set and ended with that one they did in the middle….it had more punch and was more memorable.”

Dean nodded, “The one about drag racing in their hair curlers? Yea. That one was humorous too. Clever. This one’s good but….yea I would have ended on that other one. This doesn’t have the same hook to it.”

“I love their vibe though. The whole female empowerment thing is awesome.” Sam grinned.

At that Dean had to nod in agreement and smile a little. “Yea. Very sexy.”

The crowd was screaming and yelling now that Billy and her girls were taking their final bow. Dean and Sam stepped just outside the doorway to make room as the band broke down their gear and hauled it downstairs. The Ninth Circle’s stage manager rushed past in a hurry as well to bring Perdition up on stage. As the bands transitioned, the MC hired for the event kept the crowd entertained with a stand-up comedy routine that left people groaning from the bad puns but then laughing at other jokes.

A moment later Josie Sands was coming out of the doorway to move past Dean and Sam. She paused and looked at the brothers, narrowing her eyes and smiling. She took a step in closer to them and said, “Now kids, watch how it’s done….” She winked at them wickedly and headed for the stage.

Not far behind her two blonde women came next. One was thinner, tall and leggy and was carrying a bass guitar that was lacquered black with flame detailing along its surface. The other blonde woman was short but fit, lean cut muscles showing on her frame. She clutched drumsticks in her hands and her fingers were taped up much like Benny always does. The next to come around past Sam and Dean was a tall man with straw blond hair and a keen hard gaze. He carried a black electric violin that had gold detailing on it. All of them were dressed in black suits of varying cuts and styles, but it made them look uniform and imposing.

The last to head to the stage was Ruby. She breezed past Sam and Dean, then stopped short and turned quickly, a big smile blooming on her face. She rushed up to Sam, her guitar clutched in her hand and with her free arm looped it around his neck. He bent down as she did and they met in the middle with a happy kiss. He said something only she could hear, and it made her cheeks grow sweetly warm and her smile go brighter. She kissed him again and then ran off to the stage. Like the others her instrument was black and like the bass it also had flames licking across its surface.

Perdition set up, took their places, and the lights dropped the venue into darkness.

A hush fell over the crowd.

When everything was still, Josie’s voice came out over the silence, whispering into her microphone.

_“Et vidi in infinitum…._   
_ultra daemones duceretur ab astris. . . ._   
_Ego loricatam umbrae mortis, qui illoc orbem serere atque amentia. . . .”_

She began speaking it, chanting it. But as she went on she began to let the words roll out of her in song. The tone was low and menacing and grew louder as she went.

_“Timor animi hominum_   
_atque aetate maximum et validissimum_   
_genus maiore metus metus ignotum!”_

Her voice climbed and then swooped, growing higher and then dipping down again. The violin came in with chopping staccato notes and then was backed up with the hissing sound of cymbals. Slowly the lights on the stage grew, starting in a deep red and rising brighter as the music wailed up.

_“Cumque…. Duceretur….. ad infinitum!”_

She sang out high and long, and Ruby’s guitar roared to life in tandem with a high sweet peal from the violin. There was a half beat pause and then the drums and bass took over with Ruby’s guitar taking the lead.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Josie held just at the edge of the stage, one hand stretched out to the crowd as she smiled, almost begging with her eyes. The music hammered out rough and hard, Ruby’s part pulling back into a rhythm guitar while the violin took over the melody.

_“I have seen beyond the bounds of infinity…_   
_and drawn down daemons from the stars…._

_I have harnessed the shadows that stride from world to world_   
_to sow death……. and madness. . . .”*_

Josie brough her hand skyaward and let her voice soar with it. Her eyes pulled closed and her voice kept going higher and higher. The violin chased after and Ruby’s guitar growled out low in contrast.

The music banked and swerved, then paused a half beat again and came back with a similar pattern as the intro, with the drums counting out the beat now and the bass bounding with it. Ruby’s part roared back in again and she added in flourishes and high snapping accents.

_“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear….._   
_and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown!”*_

Josie sang out, flashing her eyes up, her hand still held above her. The violin swirled up around her voice now just as it had before.

_“Cumque duceretur ad infinitum!_   
_“Cumque duceretur ad infinitum!_

_…...When I was led to the infinite!”_

The music surged and just as it hit it’s peak, it stopped exactly when Josie dropped her hand and her head. Then BAM! Her hand came up and down, and with it the band slamed out a single whole chord. Then BAM BAM BAM BAM, again. Her hand pumping into the air and the chord slamming out with it.

Then suddenly Josie twirled and the music kicked in again, only this time the drums and bass were taking on a whole different song. The violin danced and prickled in time and Ruby’s guitar rocked and jumped. Perdition was jamming into their second song.

Dean’s eyes were twice as wide as normal and he had goose bumps dotting his arms. Perdition wasn’t just good. They were amazing. Their musicianship was flawless, their timing impecable and the songs were complex yet engaging. He swallowed, dumb founded and looked helplessly at Sam.

Sam however was swooning. His jaw was hanging open and everytime Ruby switched up a chord or her fingers flew like lighting along the strings Sam would jump with delight and awe. When he saw Dean staring at him, he nudged Dean and leaned in, “Dude… she might be a better guitar player than you are….”He capped that off with a teasing laugh.

“This isn’t funny Sam…”Dean whined.

“This is very funny. Besides, they’ve been playing together twice as long as we have. What do you expect?” Sam flashed his eyes back to Ruby as he moved with the music.

“I expect my little brother not to be a traitorous bitch, that’s what.” Dean moaned.

“Oh shut up….jerk.” Sam elbowed him, then sighed and rolled his eyes. “Look, rehearsal with Cas today was amazing, right?”

“Yea.” Dean was nearly pouting.

“And he made some awesome suggestions that even Benny was one hundred percent behind right?” Sam grinned.

“Right.” The anxiety began to drain away from Dean’s face.

“And we’re doing them right? Plus all the stuff we’ve been working on all month.” Sam play punched Dean’s shoulder and Dean rolled with it, loose and more relaxed.

“Yea. Right.” Dean nodded.

“So shut up and enjoy my awesome girlfriend’s awesome guitar playing.” Sam laughed.

Dean rolled his eyes and smiled a bit, unable to deny his brother’s excitement anymore. Perdition rolled into their third song, and then their fourth one, and Ruby’s playing really began to shine.

Dean leaned over and tugged Sam’s sleeve a moment, “So….what’s this I hear she’s quitting to go back to school?”

Sam’s smile got bigger, “She wants to go to Julliard to study classical guitar. She says there has never been a female guitarist at the level of Carlos Santana or George Harrison and she wants to be the one to do it.”

“But that’s in New York….how do you feel about that?” Dean looked at Sam out of the corner of his eyes, not hiding his big brother concern.

Sam shrugged, “It’ll be long distance. It’ll suck. But if we are the real deal, we’ll survive it. I’m sure as hell not standing in the way of her dreams just like she would never stand in the way of mine.”

Dean nodded, and a warmth towards his brother spread through him. If they could win this competition, they could maybe work out something to be based in New York for a while couldn’t they? Or if they were needed to stay in Chicago where Free Will Records was based, New York was a plane flight away. Dean stopped himself and shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. They had to ace these auditions first. Dean felt a hand snake around his waist and come to rest against his stomach. Castiel had slunk up behind Dean and Dean jumped at the unexpected touch.

“Cripes Cas…. You startled me again!” Dean had tensed up once more.

“Sorry….” Castiel reached up and nudged his nose to Dean’s neck just below his ear, “How are you holding up?”

“Perdition’s good.” Dean sighed unhappily.

“The drummer? That’s Meg Masters. The song they are playing now, ‘My Unicorn’? She and I wrote it.” Castiel said off handedly.

Dean stiffened and twisted in Castiel’s hold to attempt to look at him directly, “You wrote that with her?!”

Castiel tugged Dean closer, bringing his other hand around to secure it against Dean’s hip. He pressed them close, chest to back, rump to groin and said darkly, “She’s my Ex. Don’t freak out.”

“Your what?!” Dean nearly freaked out.

Castiel sighed deeply, “I asked them to stop using this song and Lucifer…their violinist? Also my older brother. Told me they’ll play it live as long as they feel like it. Thank heavens I didn’t sign over the rights or they could record it too.”

“Wait….Lucifer….is your brother?! Dammit Cas, how many people are in your family anyway??”Dean tried to twist around again but Cas held him tight.

“Enough.” Castiel said sourly. “My parents not only didn’t believe in contraception, they also adopted like their lives depended on it. Some of us aren’t sure if we are blood relations or….” Castiel gave a helpless shrug.

“The fucking Family Von Trap.” Dean barked out a laugh.

Castiel just nodded and dipped his chin to rest against Dean’s shoulder, “You ready to do this?” His head tilted towards the stage inferring that he was talking about their performance.

Dean took a long breath and leaned back against Castiel. “I’m feeling a little self concious about the outfits we are wearing now.”

Castiel closed his eyes and rocked his body slightly against Dean, bringing his mouth close to Dean’s ear again, “Don’t. You look spectacular. You look so good I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle seeing you on stage like that.” He purred and dug his fingers into Dean’s hip.

“Better cut that out. You get me riled up and I’m not gonna to be able to get those pants on…..” Dean let his head fall back.

“Oh you’ll get them on. And then later…. I’ll get them off you….”Castiel pulled away and slapped Dean’s ass. “Time to go get ready. Let’s go before that stage manager comes to hunt us down.”

Dean jolted a little from the smack, and glared at Cas. Castiel pulled his face into his usual placid look, tapped Sam on the shoulder and gestured down to the dressing rooms. Then they both turned and headed downstairs.

Dean glanced back to the stage where Josie had planted one booted foot up on the top edge of her monitor to lean out over the audience, singing and stretching, reaching out to them all with her hand, her eyes and her voice. Dean felt his confidence wane a moment as he saw the crowd scream and reach back for her. He looked away and closed his eyes and balled his hands into fists.

He thought about all the times his father John had tried to get his own band started. About how he never seemed to have any luck pulling the right people together to make it happen. He thought about how his father practiced and practiced, and about how once Dean was old enough to wrap his tiny fingers around the neck of a guitar the lessons began. He remembered being seven and playing for his mother, and then remembered how she had been killed. He thought about how John became obsessed with his career then, taking Dean and Sam on the road, chasing after the dream.

Dean paused and a small voice deep inside himself said, “Do you want this for you or do you want this for John?!”

Dean held there, fists shaking. He looked back at the stage but then his eyes fell to the crowd. He watched how they jumped and bounced to the music. His mind flashed with memories of all the times when he could feel the music pouring out of himself, out into the crowd and then how sometimes….. sometimes…. how the music seemed to come back again through them. The exchange of energy, of emotion so raw and open and perfect. Dean’s body filled up with the memories and a smile welled up on his face. The music was everything really. He wasn’t doing this for John. It was for the music. John didn’t make him practice until two in the morning when he was fourteen years old. Dean did, and he did it because he loved it. Because it felt right and because it meant everything to Dean.

Dean watched again as the crowd reached up to the stage. A fierce determination sunk in and took hold inside him now. He could hear his own music in his head, feel the vibrations of his guitar in his hands. He felt the enery of it gush hot through his veins and he grinned with sudden unwaivering conviction. He turned sharply and bound down the stairs to get ready with a whoop.

“Let’s rock and roll!”

 

 

**(to be continued)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lyrics are quotes from H.P. Lovecraft's work


	13. Burn My Shadow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The three cover songs they play are:
> 
> "Take me I'm Yours" originally done by the Squeeze, but Slaughter House Four's version is more like this one done by Tim Curry -  
> http://youtu.be/GETQrbcWJrs
> 
> "Roundabout" by Yes -  
> http://youtu.be/-Tdu4uKSZ3M
> 
> "Burn My Shadow" by UNKLE -  
> http://youtu.be/Er6S3NdxbhE

 

St. Louis – The Ninth Circle

 

A lone guitar chord struck out, hard and high followed by lower notes that teased the melody and with it came the rest of the band, Benny with strong emphasizing hits on the first of every measure in time with bursts from Sam’s synths. The last of the guitar notes echoed out into an empty calm.

Then behind his drum kit, Benny began tapping the cymbal pedal light and easy with a “tcsh-tcshhhh tcshhhh tcshhhh tcsh-tcshhhh tcshhhh tcshhhh tcshhhh….” As the main guitar snicked out a wicked rhythmic match.

The lights on the stage rolled up, golden amber and the bass came in. Castiel stepped towards the front of the stage, his beautiful Rickenbacher 4001’s natural wood looking warm under the light. He held it slung low and easy against his hip, one foot forward with his head held down. Like Sam and Benny, Cas was wearing snug black leather pants that were slung low on their hips, black combat boots and tight fitting black t-shirts that showcased the muscles of their torsos.

The rhythmic music continued as the guitar pulled long warbling echoes out into the venue but Dean was nowhere to be seen on stage. The guitar called out again and a lone spotlight swung out to the center of the crowd and stopped to wash Dean in it’s light. Dean stood on a small raised platform, dressed like the rest of the band in leather and black, a headset strapped to his head as he began to sing out…

_“I've come across the desert…..to greet you with a smile_  
 _My camel looks so tired……It's hardly worth my while_  
 _To tell you of my travels….Across the golden east_  
 _I see your preparations……._  
 _Invite me first…. to the feast….”_

Dean rolled and dips his hips with his guitar, turning around to smile saucily at the crowd enthralled around him. And when he sang out the chorus, he leapt up and off the platform to land in the crowd.

_“Take me I'm yours!!_  
 _Because dreams are made of this…..”_

Dean leaned in towards a group of girls and gave them a sultry smile as he rocked his body close…..

_“For-ever there'll be…. a hea-ven in your kiss….….”_

On stage, Sam and Benny sang out the backing vocals as Dean worked his way through the crowd flirting with men and women alike.

_“Amusing belly dancers distract me from my wine_  
 _Across Tibetan mountains are memories of mine_  
 _I've stood some ghostly moments with natives in the hills_  
 _Recorded here on paper…..my chills and thrills…. and spills!”_

He did a faux trip as if he would fall, but roll up to his feet smoothly with a bright smile.

_“Take me I'm yours!!_

_Because dreams are made of this….._  
 _For-ever there'll be…. a hea-ven in your kiss….….”_

The crowd was squealing with delight by now. Dean danced and worked his way up to the edge of the stage. He did a half drop roll to swing himself up onto the stage to finish out the song.

_“It's really been some welcome, you never seem to change_  
 _A grape to tempt your leisure, romantic gestures strange_  
 _My eagle flies tomorrow, it's a game I treasure dear_  
 _To seek the helpless future….._

_My love at last…. I'm here!”_

Dean spread out his arms a moment and let his guitar hang against his body before grasping it again and taking up the music once more. He skirted the edge of the stage, leaning over its edge to beam smiles at the crowd, singing to individuals there while belting out the words.

_“Take me I'm yours!!_

_Because dreams are made of this….._  
 _For-ever there'll be…. a hea-ven in your kiss….….”_

Slaughter House Four seemed to bounce in unison with the beat as Dean’s voice called out the chorus again, it echoed and reverberated through the venue.  It had been a low easy going tempo of a song to open with, but it let Dean’s vocal range come out and it caught the crowd’s interest with its intrigue.

As Dean sang out the last of the chorus, Sam held the song with him as Benny eased out of it with Cas along for the ride. Benny began to break the beat, skipping it to the second and fourth the beats and Cas supported that with low bass notes held for the full measure. They were all still perfectly in time with each other.

Dean dropped the guitar out as Sam shifted and picked up the melody for their second song still keeping time with Benny and Cas. While Sam transitioned from synth to piano, Dean unhooked the mobile transmitter from his guitar and plugged his instrument directly into their system. As he did, he and Cas traded a quick look and a small nod.

Dean broke in with the melody for “Salt and Burn” as he stepped up to the mic stand that was ready for him center stage front.

_“I roamed the road, a lonely kind of sting_  
 _Ghost of a dark night, haunting everything…_  
 _Hey tell me baby, tell me all your endless secrets_  
 _I’ll lick them down, swallow them hard…. no regrets…._

_So hold me now…..but we’ll never ever learn_  
 _It’s all about to salt and burn…..”_

As they played the rest of ‘Salt and Burn’, Cas would wander the stage, sometimes stepping up to nod with Sam as they worked through their parts. Then he would wander back to Benny, and they would trade knowing looks as they riffed off of each other, deviating just slightly from the song. As Dean wrapped up the end of the piece, Cas moved back to his spot to Dean’s right on stage.

On the wind down for the song, Dean leaned up to the mic and as the band kept the beat going Dean spoke to the crowd, “Good evening….lovely lovely people. Everyone enjoying themselves tonight?” The crowd responded with cheers and shouts as faces smiled up at Slaughter House Four. Dean continued, “Aww c’mon….we can do better than that…..” Dean’s smile flashed out and the crowd yelled louder, whistles and clapping coming with a roar.

“Hell yea!” Dean grinned. “I wanna tell you about my band up here okay?” He teased out a naughtier edge to his smile and rolled his eyes over to Sam, “That tall Sasquatch there is my brother Sam.”

Sam let his dimples deepen with his smile and his fingers flew over his keyboard to play out a snippet of Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ in perfect time with Benny and Cas’s beat. The crowd cheered.

“Yea yea yea….showoff….”Dean smirk and the crowd laughed. Then Dean turned and spread one hand back towards Benny, “Back there on drums is my good friend Benny….give it to them Benny!”

Benny flexed for a half beat then threw down a complex and intricate pattern of beats and hits in the middle of which he tossed one drum stick in the air to spin, then caught it as it came down. All still perfectly in time to the rhythm Cas and Sam were holding on to. In reply, the crowd screamed and threw their hands up into the air.

Dean turned his head towards Cas, and Cas simply wandered over. Castiel turned his back to Dean and leaned against Dean’s side, then slithered down to a half crouch as he pressed his back to Dean’s thigh. As he did so, he slapped out a pumping funky bass line that had Benny and Sam picking up on it with big grins on their faces.

“And this is our newest member…..on bass….Castiel!” Dean felt his face go crimson as Cas pushed up, dragging his back and rump against Dean as he got to his feet. Cas rocked his hips once before disconnecting and several girls in the front row squealed out.

Dean let his fingers speak on the strings, pulling out a slow sexy roar as he did a quick grind of his crotch into the back of his guitar. He flicked his eyes to Castiel and caught the intense look on the bass player’s face. Cas’s eyes were nearly black even under the bright stage lights and that hot gaze slice right through Dean.  Dean did the grind again, slower and he let his tongue snake out to drag across his bottom lip. The notes coming off the guitar echoed the heat that was knotting in Dean’s gut. Cas hid his smile and turned away while the women in the crowd screamed and reached out to the stage at Dean’s antics.

Dean leaned into the mic and closed his eyes, growling out, “And I’m Dean……”

He took a breath then sang out the first stanza of their song ‘Devil’s Trap’ and the rest of the band followed. Dean poured the rising feelings of arousal that was coursing through his system into the song, groaning out some of the chorus and swaying his hips.

To close out the song Dean pulled out one of his signature guitar solos, dropping to his knees at the edge of the stage and leaning back as he played and played. People close enough to him reached out to touch and stroke his thighs, and Dean bit hard into his lip as he fingered out the solo. Then he rose up into a stand, as if floating and stepped back.

Benny was at the mic stand now, his fingers wrapped in black tape as they cradled the microphone. He had his head down and one toe just pushed forward as his body rocked on one hip.

Sam was brining in the intro to ‘Fangs and Kisses’ and Cas had sauntered back to stand with Dean near the drum kit. Sam sailed out high sweet notes and then dropped everything down into a heady sexy pulse, adding a low loud heartbeat like tone under everything.

Benny lifted his chin and sang out, his voice like dark rum and summer thunder. He kept his eyes closed at first and his brows knit up to echo the ache thrumming through the music.

_“When you first came ‘round_  
 _So many rumors racin’ through town_  
 _Your smile glint oh so bright_  
 _Sharp as knives tha' whole night_

_I was helpless... lord have mercy, save me Angel_

_From the beast inside of you…._  
 _From the beast….inside of you…”_

Slowly Benny pulled his eyes open and speared his light blue eyes on the crowd. His irises were like frozen fire, distant cold yet burning. He slowly dragged them over the crowd as Sam’s music swung snake like through the air.

_“Your touch became the key_  
 _Unlocked what boiled deep inside a’ me_  
 _My eyes swimmin’ with delight_  
 _All my urges flicked an' set alight_

_Now you’re helpless little Angel_

_From the beast inside of me….._  
 _From the beast…inside a’ me….”_

Benny’s voice growled out and the timbre of it passed like a physical tremor through the crowd. Benny’s eyes were no longer on the audience but instead were locked onto someone standing up on the second level balcony, a shadowed figure in the dark. He groaned out the lyrics as if over come with need as his hands gripped mic tight. He swayed, like the mic stand was the only thing keeping him from crumbling to the stage.

_“Oh dark Angel, come kiss me with your sins_  
 _Dance my heart on the head of your pins_

_Let loose the beast inside of you_  
 _Let loose the beast….. inside a’ me…..”_

Benny called out with a long throaty moan as he closed out the song and the crowd broke into a swell of shouts, screams and applause. Benny tore his eyes away from the balcony and stepped back hanging his head to hide the smile creeping along his lips.

Sam hung into the last chord and let it swell up and then there was a light pluck from Dean’s guitar followed by the careful first notes of Yes’ ‘Roundabout’. Dean strolled to his place center stage. Dean’s eyes were on his guitar as he took his spot and the crowd was surging forward as they recognized the classic rock piece.

The rest of the band’s parts snapped in and Cas moved forward, bringing their cover of the song to life. Sam handled the vocals for this as Dean focused on the guitar part, hanging back a bit to let Castiel have center stage as Cas expertly flew through the complex bass line of the famous song.

_“The muses dance and sing_  
 _They make the children really ring_  
 _I'll spend the day your way_  
 _Call it morning driving thru the sound and_  
 _In and out the valley.....”_

On the chorus, Benny brought his drumsticks to clap them over his head and it got the crowd to start clapping along. Dean moved to the mic stand to do harmony with Sam, but Castiel dropped back to turn to face Dean as he played. Soon the mic was sandwiched between Dean and Cas as they shared it to both back the vocal.

And on the instrumental parts Cas and Dean would come close together, one foot planted in between the other mans as they bent closer. They would lean back and forth in time with the music, in sync with each other. When the music became more intricate and complex Dean and Cas riffed off each other back and forth, both wailing on their instruments as if they were one unit.

Slaughter House Four played out the whole piece flawlessly, singing and moving as one, the harmonies perfect and flowing as the music poured out of them. At the end the crowd erupted in waves of cheers and shouts, crowding so close to the stage they could nearly reach up and touch Dean and Cas.

The band came out of ‘Roundabout’ and went right into more of their original music. The crowd went right there with them, jumping and bouncing with the beat. The next hour flew by, one piece of music flowing effortlessly into the next.

Dean was glowing. He was high from the adrenaline of playing and the adoration flowing in waves off the crowd. When he looked back at Benny and Sam, they were wearing thousand watt smiles, their own energy rocketing through them and into the music.

Dean pivoted on his foot to turn to Castiel and they nearly collided, just coming short so they were nearly nose-to-nose. Their hands were just dusting against the other as they played at the bridge of their instruments. Dean almost lost his place and nearly faltered in holding the melody when his eyes met Castiel’s. Cas let a drunken looking debauched smile shift over his mouth as he tipped his head back to gaze at Dean with half lidded eyes. Cas was nearly delirious with euphoria from playing and it showed. His dark hair was sticky with sweat and his lips were warm and pink.

Cas rolled his hip sideways which rubbed the outer edge of his knee against the inside of Dean’s knee. Then he reached up, flicked his tongue out and licked along Dean’s lips. Dean nearly swooned and the crowd went crazy.

Never slipping in his playing Cas dropped to his knees in front of Dean and pressed his cheek to the soundboard on Dean’s Impala guitar. Then he turned his face and stared up adoringly at Dean a moment before he shot up to stand again. Dean shifted slightly to the mic and took up the chorus for the song they were playing. They finished out the song as hands shot forward from the audience for Dean and Cas.

They played another pair of their own original songs before finally reaching the last song of their set. The quick intro began with loose fast strum from Dean, and then the full music hit hard as Sam, Benny and Cas came in. It was fast and pounding, almost crashing….

And then stopped. Dean was at the mic as Sam sent light soft sounds flickering out.

_“I have burned my tomorrows…._  
 _And I stand inside today…._  
 _At the edge of the future…._  
 _And my dreams all fade away…..”_

Dean repeated those lyrics as Benny aggressively brought in a fast drum bit. Dean strummed again on his guitar. Cas’s bass thumped like a heart beat until the lyrics were done and the music erupted hard again, swelling and surging.

_“I have burned my tomorrows…._  
 _And I stand inside today…._  
 _At the edge of the future…_  
 _And my dreams all fade away…._

_…..And burn my shadow away_  
 _And burn my shadow away”_

They slammed it out, throbbing with the intensity of it as Dean wailed into the mic.

_"I faced my destroyer_  
 _I was ambushed by a lie_  
 _And you judged me once for falling_  
 _This wounded heart will rise…..”_

Benny and Cas dropped away into a tense hovering hold as Dean sang out. Behind him Sam sent out a simple piano melody.

_“And burn my shadow away!!_  
 _And burn my shadow away!!”_

The music broke back in again hard and driving. The crowd was screaming and thrashing with it, caught up in its storming thunder. Just as swiftly as it slammed in, it dropped away and the band all crooned together in harmony into their mics, soft and gentle over and over again.

_“When I see the light_  
 _True love forever (burn my shadow)_  
 _When I see the light_  
 _True love forever (away)”_

The music came back in full force once rushing and firing off like canons. It raced over the crowd like a tidal wave, washing over them to snatch them up and bring them along. The final chorus came and Dean emptied his lungs as he sang it out, the sweat poured off him in rivulets.

_“And burn my shadow away….!_  
 _And burn my shadow away….!”_

 Abruptly again the music ceased and when it did the lights snapped off draping the stage into under a hush of darkness. A single spot held on Dean at the mic, haloing him in a thin frail pool of light. Acapella he called out, reaching for the audience as his green eyes gleamed and his voice shone like gold in sunlight.

“Oh, how I loved you!!!”

And then the stage was plunged into darkness.

The crowd exploded, their screams and cries of joy were deafening. The building nearly shook with it as they yelled on and on and on until the stage lights came up and the MC for the night came out and tried to start his routine. Even then the crowd screamed and yell, chanting out again and again “SLAUGHTER HOUSE FOUR! SLAUGHTER HOUSE FOUR! SLAUGHTER HOUSE FOUR!” The MC tried again but it took Garth and Kevin coming out to break down the band’s gear before the crowd finally settled and listened to the MC as he talked about the final band for the night. Behind him Slaughter House Four’s instruments were packed up and the final band’s gear began to be brought out.

 

 

Downstairs in the dressing rooms, Slaughter House Four were flying.

Benny, his smile huge and shining, was still soaring with energy and was taping his drumsticks on every surface near him. Sam had whipped off his t-shirt to use it to mop the sweat from his face and neck, and he couldn’t stand still. He nearly bounced from one side of the room to the other.

“Did you see the look on their faces when that spot his Dean out in the crowd?! That was priceless!!” Sam laughed.

“Best set we’ve ever done….and Cas, you had a big hand in that brother.” Benny rumbled out a laugh of his own.

Castiel was leaning against the back of a chair, his toned legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, “I’m just thankful I got to be part of it all.” His words came out genuine and humble.

Dean had come in last and was standing still by the door. His hands were planted on his hips and his eyes were glued to the floor. “I can’t……I just……” His voice was shaky and weak.

“Dean?” Sam settled down a bit and moved to stand near his brother. “You okay?”

Dean held still a heartbeat longer and then his looked up at Sam. The light in his eyes had gone positively nuclear and he grabbed Sam into a tight brotherly hug. “We did it….Sam….SAM!!! WE DID IT!!!”

Sam hugged him back, crushing him, and then dragged Dean to the middle of the room and reached out to coax Benny into the hug as well. Once Benny grudgingly moved in to join them, Sam reached out for Cas, “You too Cas!”

Soon they were all clinging to each other, slapping each other on the shoulder or back, laughing and jostling. They broke apart and Sam went back to gushing over different events during their set, praising Benny’s for the intensity of his vocals and teasing Dean and Cas about their antics. They almost didn’t hear the knock on the dressing room door when it came a few minutes later.

Castiel was the one to answer it and when he opened the door, Christina Ronald from Free Will Records was standing there. Cas invited her in.

Christina entered, her face somber and serious. Her hands we folded in front of her as if she was displeased. “Gentlemen….. I need to speak with you about your performance tonight.”

Originally when she came in, Benny’s eyes had lit up brighter than Dean’s. But when he heard her tone of voice the smile on his face faded. “Is there a problem?”

She glanced at Benny, then turned her eyes to Dean and Castiel, “That wasn’t exactly PG13 up there on that stage tonight.”

Castiel paled slightly as his hands hung limp at his sides. Dean on the other hand scowled and took a step towards her as if to start an argument. Christina halted him by holding up one hand. Then she took a deep breath.

She let them sit there in tense silence for a full moment before she spoke again. “It was sex fueled and raunchy……. as well as deeply sensual and arousing. The judges can’t stop talking about it. They sent me to tell you….”

She paused for a painfully long time. She leaned back against the edge of one of the chairs in the room and unfolded her hands. “They sent me to tell you that coupled with the stellar song writing, the engaging musicianship and the obvious flare you have with an audience….. The said you’re in.”

“What? In what?” Dean frowned.

“You’re going to the final battle of the bands in Chicago.” Christina’s veneer of sour displeasure cracked and a smile slipped free.

Dean looked from Christina to Sam to Cas to Benny and back. “We….Chicago?! Seriously?!”

“The judges haven’t made their official final announced selections, so you’ll have to keep this under your hat until those are sent out. But yes. You are one of the final five bands.” She grinned, “I have to go now. Remember. You can’t tell anyone until the official announcements. That goes for your roadies and family. Nobody! Got it?”

The band agreed. Then Christina walked over to Benny and gripped the front of his shirt in her hands. She reached up and nipped at his lips with her own and purred, “Beast indeed. I’ll see you in my room later.” With that she released him, turned and went out, leaving a rough grin on Benny’s face.

Dean suddenly sat down on the floor, as if gravity had increased and just yanked him helplessly down. Dazed, he looked up at Sam, Cas and Benny with a woozy delighted smile on his face.

“We did it. We’re going to Chicago!”

 

 

  
 **(to be continued)**


	14. Sex on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title song an be found here:  
> Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz3icfKS3X0

 

**Lawrence, KS**

 

Benny shifted, did a semi-stretch and pulled his eyes open slowly. His bedroom was steeped in low light and shadow, the early morning sun creeping cautiously around the corners of shades pulled down over his windows. Half of his top sheet was tangled around his right leg and his right arm was shoved behind his head under his pillow. He nudged his chin down and smiled at the river of blonde tresses coursing over his shoulder and his chest. A warm happy rumble bubbled up through him as his sleepy smile grew bigger.

Christina’s head was pillowed on his chest, her left arm draped casually just below her chin, fingers gently curled into the fabric of his t-shirt. Her other arm was wedged against his side, while her legs were tucked around his left leg.

He shifted his left arm slowly as not to wake her, and stroked his fingers down her back. She was wearing one of his t-shirts, much too big for her, but he had let her steal it anyway.

Benny drank in a deep contented breath, Christina’s scent filling up his nose and washing through his head. It was a mix of orange blossom and something else green like fresh cut garden herbs that faded into a note that Benny could only classify as sunshine….. if one could smell the sun’s rays. As he let out the breath, his chest rumbled happy again and she stirred a bit against his chest. She nodded her head a little, like a kid, and muttered into his shirt.

“I didn’t quite catch that Darlin’…” Benny smiled and sifted some of her hair loosely through his fingers.

“Mmmm not movin’…” She pulled possessively with her fingers on his t-shirt and hooked one leg tighter around his left calf.

“Think so?” A deeply mischievous grin spread over his face now and he rested his head back on the pillow.

“I’mma executive…. Super powerful business woman….. listed in Forbes magazine this year…. 50 up and coming executives to watch…. My stock portfolio have stock portfolios…..” She nuzzled his chest, “You’re not the boss o’me.”

Benny chuckled and wrapped both arms around her shoulders, holding her tight against his chest. “I dunno Darlin’. I bet I can get you awake and up pretty quick if I wanted.”

“No cheating…..” She said muffled into his chest and tapped the side of his rib cage with one finger.

Benny drew in a full breath then and began to sing softly, letting his baritone voice reverberate in his chest and diaphragm. This in turn vibrated like a warm wave into Christina flopped against him. It was like being held against a huge drum as it pummeled out a soft roll, the tremble of it rippling down through her body.

_“Lay where you're laying, don't make a sound_   
_I know they're watching, they're watching_   
_All the commotion, the kiddie like play_   
_Has people talking, talking…..”_

_“You, your sex is on fire…….”_

 Benny brought the volume up a little louder and his left hand wandered down along her back again.

_“The dark of the alley, the breaking of day_   
_The head while I'm driving, I'm driving_   
_Soft lips are open, knuckles are pale_   
_Feels like you're dying, you're dying”_

_“You, your sex is on fire._   
_Consumed with what's to transpire…..”_

Slowly he began to roll over towards her, scooping her along with him so they were on their sides facing each other, he nosed down against the top of her head as his lips dragged against her forehead. He continued to sing.

_“Hot as a fever, rattling bones_   
_I could just taste it, taste it…..”_

His mouth wandered down over her cheek, singing still as his beard and lips brushed against her. She squeezed her eyes closed at first, not wanting to let him win. But her hands found purchase against his back and over his heart, fingers knuckling in the t-shirt fabric.

_“If it's not forever, if it's just tonight_   
_Oh, it's still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest…..”_

Benny kept rolling, pushing her back against the bed, curling his muscled body over hers. He nudged his chin in between her neck and shoulder letting his breath huff over her skin.

_“And you, your sex is on fire_   
_Consumed with what's to transpire……”_

He tangled one hand into her hair and pulled gently but firmly to expose her throat more to him while his other hand slid warm and urgent under the hem of the shirt she wore. He planted his mouth on her skin and hummed the remainder of the song, pushing the notes through his lips into her flesh.

Christina gasped and her head fell back further, “….that’s sooooo….cheating….”

Benny let his amusement growl up from his throat and he was about to slide his knee between hers when both of their cell phones sang out at the same time.

“No no no no no nooooo…..” She whined softly as he started to pull away from her.

He bent back in to press a firm lingering kiss to her lips before he leaned away, his eyes surprisingly bright in the dim light of the bedroom. “Not happy about it either, but this’ll give us a reason to sneak away later eh?” He smiled with a wink, then looked lovingly into her eyes as he rolled away off to his feet.

“Ugh.” Christina sat up and dragged her hand over to snatch up her phone beside the bed. She tried to hide her smile. “Holding you to that Lafitte….”

Benny replied with an absolutely filthy grin, a lift of his brows and he then moved to pick up his own cell phone. He snapped it open and brought it to his ear. On the other side of the room, Christina did the same.

“Hey, yea… what’s up?”  
“This better be life or death….”

“Whoa man….hold on brutha…..what”  
“Wait. What?”

“Tha’s just……I can’t believe it…..”  
“Are you kidding? They can’t do that can they?”

“Naw…..it’s no problem. Yea she’s still here…..we’ll be over soon as we can.”  
“……Well they can’t sue us, they signed the authorization waivers. Send them copies. In triplicate. I’ll be back in the office Thursday morning......”

“Bye Dean.”  
“Thanks for calling Jess.”

They both set down their phones and looked at each other. Benny’s eyes were tied up with concern, but his face was relaxed and open. Christina mirrored his expression, but she nibbled slightly on her bottom lip.

“That was my asssitant, Jess.” She stood up and moved to a chair nearby where her suitcase sat open. She peeled off Benny’s shirt to place it over the back of its open lid. “Evidently ‘Seraphim’ are withdrawing from the Battle of the Bands competition and they are trying to sue Free Will Records for some crazy ‘loss of income over a loss of a band member’ insanity….” She rummaged out clean clothes and looked at Benny.

He nodded and frowned. “Castiel quit Seraphim to join us….or at least he was going to. Dean just called to tell me Cas isn’t coming down from Chicago today as planned.  Dean called a band meeting….. probably to figure out what to do about our gig this weekend.”

“Shit. Sounds like they are connected.” Christina’s eyes went wide.

Benny made his way around the bed and gathered her up into his arms, pulling her against him. He rested he chin on the crown of her head as he spoke, “This doesn’t make any sense. If Castiel quit…he should be headed down here today. But if he didn’t quit, why is Seraphim claiming they lost a band member?”

“Let’s shower, get dressed and bagel up….. I’m curious to hear what Dean has to say about this.” Christina hugged him back tightly before they let go of each other to get ready to leave.

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 

**Chicago, IL**

The back screen door that led from Gabriel’s kitchen out onto the small back landing on his brownstone apartment slammed hard and with purpose. Castiel grimaced and winced at the sharp sound the door made, and smacked his hands down on the sturdy wood rail rimming the landing. He squeezed his hands hard against the wood as he scrunched his eyes closed, grinding his teeth together. His anger broiled openly across his whole body and he held fast to the railing as if to anchor himself against his own storm.

A moment later Gabriel slipped out onto the landing behind him, his gentle movements in obvious contrast to his little brother’s. Gabriel took in a deep breath, worried his bottom lip a moment longer with his teeth before he spoke up.

“There are ways around this Cas….” Gabriel took up a spot on the other side of the landing, leaning against the rail there to give Castiel room to vent his fury.

“Michael said he would sue me for breach of contract if I leave. I don’t see HOW there is a way around this…. It’s bad enough Balthazar opted not to renew his contract and has run off…..” Castiel turned, throwing his arms in the air then letting them fall limp at his sides. “Did you know Balthazar was leaving?!”

“Nope. Caught me by surprise actually. Well the timing of it anyway.” Gabriel didn’t drop his gaze, “He’s been experimenting with producing music for a year now. I thought he would just do it under the Seraphim banner….” Gabriel gave a short shrug.

“Yes….well. His choice of timing was poor. There is no way Michael will even listen to me about modifying my contract, and leave Seraphim?” Castiel’s face went stoic and sour. “I might as well be Lucifer all over again.”

At the mention of their old brother’s name Gabriel raised his brows. “I can’t see you drumming up things the way Luce did….”

“Maybe Lucifer had the right idea.” Castiel ranted a little, “He tried to buy out Seraphim’s whole contract…. Shift the entire band over to a different label….One that he was partnered in with Crowley.” Castiel sank back against the rail behind him.

“Sure, which would have put both of them entirely in control instead of Michael and Raphael. And if you think getting out of your contract with Mikey is tough….Luc would have owned your soul.” Gabriel chuckled.

Castiel rolled his eyes, “You’re probably right.” He paused, drinking in a slow breath, “How did you get out of your contract?”

Gabriel out right laughed, “I didn’t. I just vanished remember? I hid. In Japan. For three years under an assumed name. By the time Mickey and Raph found me, I had made enough money that I could afford some very scary Asian legal counsel and I was able to win my freedom from them in a lengthy court battle.”

Castiel’s face withered knowing he didn’t have any resources like that available to him.

Gabriel continued, “You could always take the route Anna took…” He chuckled. “She burned her contract with a deft application of unforgivable scandal.”

Castiel wiped his face with one hand, “If I can’t find another way out, I may have to resort to that. Stripping nude and performing Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with a _ukulele_ on the ‘L’ along the Loop isn’t something I would jump at the chance to do.” He paused. “Usually.”

Gabriel smirked, “Look, come inside and we’ll look over your contract together. Maybe there is some hole or clause or something we can use to your advantage.”

Castiel opened his mouth to say ‘but I’ve already looked and looked’ but instead he held his brother’s gaze a moment and saw the flicker of some mischief there in those golden eyes. Instead he said, “Yes….. and thank you. You didn’t have to fly back early from Paris for this you know….”

Gabriel’s smirk bloomed into a full wide playful smile, “Of course I did. Are you kidding me? You’re my baby Bro!”

“And annoying Michael and Raphael has nothing to do with it right?” Castiel deadpanned and stood up away from the rail.

“Pffft. Of course not.” Gabriel moved toward the kitchen door, his tone of voice drenched in sarcasm. “How is THAT ever fun?” He waggled his brows at Castiel and ducked into his kitchen. But before he moved through the door, he glanced back with a kind look in his eyes, “When were you supposed to go down to Lawrence to start rehearsals with Dean-o and the guys?”

The frustration and anger in Castiel’s face was softened by a look of longing, “Today. I had planned on driving down today.” He dropped his eyes down to look at his boot as he scuffed it gently on the wood landing, “After the auditions were over, we were all caught up in the after parties, and then yesterday there were interviews and press meetings….. and….I didn’t really get to say goodbye before we all split to head off and…..”

Gabriel’s eyes went a little wider. He caught the hint of something in Castiel’s voice and a grin began to play on the corner’s of Gabriel’s mouth. “Cassie, is there more to this last weekend beyond you just taking over the bass guitar for Slaughter House Four?”

“Well…..yes. Dean and I, we….” Castiel stopped and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I had a date….. somewhat….. with Dean…. And we…..”

Gabriel nudged Castiel lewdly with his elbow and that grin shot bright. “All right Cassie! Finally got a little piece of that Winchester booty!”

Castiel looked quickly up at Gabriel, his eyes wide. “No no no, we didn’t….uh, there was no sex. Just…..”

Gabriel full out laughed, “Just yankin’ your chain Bro.” Then his face softened, “You like this guy huh?”

Castiel let his hands falls easy at his sides and as he thought about Dean, a gentle smile crept out barely at the edges of his lips while his eyes full out smiled. “I do. And I really want to make this work Gabriel.”

Gabriel gave his brother a long look as if sizing him up, yet he didn’t seem surprised by his brother’s answer in the least. He nodded his head and said, “Okay then. Let’s see about getting you out of this contract.”

They entered the kitchen and shut the door behind them.

 

**(to be continued)**


	15. Free Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title song:  
> Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride  
> http://youtu.be/Ek_4ADcA_Ik

 

**Lawrence, KS**

 

Dean paced. Near him a small portable radio drifted out the local classic rock station’s offerings. Currently “Free Ride” was playing and Dean was subconsciously fiddling out the guitar licks with his fingers.

The last week had been nearly as stressful as the week after his Dad had died. The days after John’s death had been filled with meetings with lawyers and banks, sorting out the meager will John had written up and navigating John’s savings, debts and holdings. The only bright moment was when Dean and Sam had learned their house was paid off and left jointly in their names. Over a month later and the rest of John’s estate was still being sorted out and sifted through.

But while that week had held a cloud of mourning over it, this last week had been blanketed by anxiety and ratcheting tension. Castiel was held up in Chicago dealing with the battle over his current contract with ‘Seraphim’. Castiel promised that he would be down in time to make their Saturday gig, but he had been up to his neck in meetings with his brother Gabriel’s own small legal team trying to sort out a way to leave ‘Seraphim’ completely. Dean had been on the phone daily for hours with Cas in the evenings, but Dean was edgy at the lack of progress. Plus he was itching to get his arms back around Cas again, and was having trouble dealing with his sudden head over heels emotional need for the guy.

Castiel’s situation wasn’t the only problem that reared its head. Ruby had discovered that two of ‘Perdition’s roadies were the ones who broke into the van and had stolen Rufus’ bass guitar. She had called the police the moment she heard their confession, and phoned Sam right after. She had suspicions that Josie had paid them off to do it, but had no proof.

Meanwhile Rufus had been laid up back in St Louis at the hospital still. The police had caught wind of the shooter’s whereabouts, but the son-of-a-bitch was still free.

Too much was happening all at once and Dean was a high-strung wire just this side of snapping clean through. His saving grace was that Benny and Sam seemed to be holding an even keel, both of them calm like lighthouses steady through a summer hurricane.

Dean stopped pacing and sat down next to the radio. He was up on the roof of their practice shed in the back corner of Singer Salvage Yard. The wood beneath him groaned a little as he settled back to look up into the sky above. The evening was shifting gently into night, and the stars were winking alive in the deepening blue sky.

It made something inside Dean’s chest ache as the color hovered a while at the same shade of Castiel’s eyes before it darkened further. He let out a heavy sigh and his hand wandered down to his pocket to thumb at his cell phone. He had spoken with Cas once that day and the urge to call again was over whelming. He was about to tug his phone out when he heard the creak of the ladder along the side of the shed. He glanced over to see Garth peering at him from the edge of the roof.

“Is it safe?” Garth asked.

“Yeah… mostly. I think we need to reinforce the roof soon though.” Dean folded his arms behind his head as Garth nodded and hauled himself up to join Dean.

Garth toed over and sat beside Dean, then stretched out mimicking Dean’s posture. “Called the bar manager at the gig this weekend. Everything is good to go. I’ll be glad when this whole band contest thing is over…. Getting’ real tired of sassy sound tech guys who don’t know their ohms from their ass.”

“I thought that’s what we had Kevin for.” Dean frowned.

“The bar’s got their own sound guy and they insist on having us use him.” Garth scoffed, “Said we weren’t big name enough for them to trust Kevin with their system.”

Dean tsked and bit his lip. Kevin had been incredibly dejected over what had happened to Rufus and Dean was hoping that getting the kid back into the swing of things would help brighten his mood. “Maybe we can pull a Rockford.”

Garth looked over at Dean as a big smile dawned on his face, “You think?”

“I think so yea. Only instead of us just locking the guy in a closet this time, I think we can rope Christina or Ruby into helping us get rid of the guy.” Dean chuckled.

“How so?” Garth sat up to lean on his elbows.

“Have you not been paying attention? Both of those women are tenacious, resourceful and scary smart. All we have to do is point them in the poor guy’s direction and he’ll flee the venue in fear for his life.” Dean closed his eyes and a wry grin played out over his mouth. He envisioned Ruby stumping the guy up with her quick banter, and then he could see Christina using her flawless logic to point out why Kevin needed to run the sound. It would be a one-two punch and Kevin would be in.

Then a bolt of an idea hit Dean so hard he jerked sitting upright. “Oh my god.”

Garth sat up fully as well, “What?!”

“Cancel the gig this weekend.” Dean’s eyes were practically glowing now and the smile on his face had gone nuclear.

“Wha….cancel? Seriously?” Garth looked puzzled.

“Christina is still here right? And Ruby was coming in for the weekend too….We’ll meet her in St Louis… I’ll tell Bobby we’ll pick up Rufus.” Dean scrambled up to his feet as he rambled out loud, “I wonder if Jo is free…. and Charlie is still in St Louis working on her article for Rolling Stone…..” He bent over and picked up the little radio.

“Dean, I’m not sure what…..” Garth tilted his head as he stood up and pursed his lips but couldn’t continue with his concerns as Dean cut him off.

“What do you wanna bet Michael Garrison is as big of a chauvinist as he is a douche bag in general….” Dean looped an arm around Garth’s shoulders and guided them both over to the edge of the roof near the ladder. Garth just shrugged in reply.

“I bet he is. And I bet we can pull a Rockford on him and Castiel’s contract with Seraphim…” Dean beamed, pleased with himself.

“That doesn’t sound entirely legal Dean…” Garth offered.

“Oh no, it’ll be fully legal. And binding.” Dean patted Garth’s back. “And awesome!”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Two hours later, Christina was on her cell phone with her boss, the owner of Free Will Records. She was standing on the grass, barefoot, out on the front lawn of the Winchester boy’s home. Inside the kitchen had been converted into a veritable war room. All of Slaughter House Four was in there, along with a local friend of theirs Jo Harvelle who ran a small independent music publication. The air was electric in there, and Christina’s skin was buzzing with the excitement. She had been in boardroom meetings and business offices for so long, she had forgotten the adrenaline one gets from working closely and directly with a rock band. She was three hundred percent sure she was enjoying herself and just as sure she was going to go back to a more face to face approach with the label’s artists in the near future.

She had just spent the last five minutes explaining Dean’s brainstorm to her boss and was now waiting for his input. She brushed one foot idly through the lush grass as she listened to him begin to chuckle softly on the other end.

“Do you see now what I meant about those two? Dean Winchester and Castiel Garrison? Now do you get it?” He chuckled gently.

“Oh you have no idea. The sparks those two send out on and off stage are epic. This is going to be Hollywood material someday.” Christina drew in a breath, “But Dean’s plan…. To get Castiel out of that contract….?”

“If he can get the remaining Garrison brothers in Seraphim to sign off, then Castiel will be free. Call our legal guys tomorrow and double check but they’ll confirm I’m right.” He paused, “It’s quite clever if it’s done right. Very ‘Mission Impossible’.”

“I was thinking more ‘Ocean’s Eleven.” Christina smiled.

“Clooney or Martin?” He asked.

“As if you have to ask that.” She chided. “While you are on the phone, I want to update you about the other legal matter with ‘Seraphim’….”

“Balthazar’s exit and the Garrison family thinking we can be blamed for that. Ridiculous.” He made a huffing sound on the other end of the phone.

“They backed off when Jess sent them the copies of the waivers they signed. I’ve also kicked them out of the competition.” She paused as something occurred to her. “It’s so funny how you say ‘the Garrison family’ especially since….”

He cut her off, “I’m not having this conversation with you Angel. You promised me when you figured out my connection to them that you’d leave it alone.”

“Fine, fine.” She smiled then her eyes went wide, “You’re going to help Dean get Castiel out of this aren’t you?!”

“So tell me about the drummer Angel. How’s your ‘teddy bear’?” His grin could be heard through the phone as he ignored her question and barreled into a subject shift.

“Amazing. And behave yourself when you meet him or else.” It was her turn to grin now.

“Good. It’s about time you found something else to pour your energy into beyond this company.” His words came across gentle, almost fatherly.

“Speaking of that, I want to promote Jess and level some of my duties her way now. She can more than handle it. And I want to go back to doing face time with our artists…. Go to their performances, be in the studio with them.” Christina gestured a bit with her free hand even though her boss couldn’t see them over the phone.

“Whatever you want Angel.” He said confidently. “Look I need to go now. I have to be some place in a few here. You’ll call me and let me know how this all works out, hmm?”

“Yes of course.” Christina nodded, “Thanks Boss.”

“Oh one last thing, you’ve got to make sure the signatures indent the paper. They must be iron clad. It has to sell the court if this thing you guys are cooking up backfires.” He said this calmly but she could hear something in his voice that meant this was truly important. “I know from experience.” There was a pause, “Good Night Angel.” Then he hung up.

She hit the button on her smart phone and dropped it to her side. Dean’s plan didn’t factor that last issue in and now they needed to work another hitch into their actions. She was still standing on the lawn with her cell in hand, lost in thought when Benny came out of the house to join her.

“Everythin’ okay Darlin’?” He moved up close and pulled her into an enveloping hug.

“We might have a small problem. We’ve got to make sure that without a doubt whatever ‘Seraphim’ signs, it sticks in court. I’m not sure if Dean’s thing will work now.” Her voice was concerned and she nuzzled into Benny’s hold, closing her eyes and sinking into his solid form.

“Well…”Benny kissed the top of her head. “We’re all headin’ to St Louis to pick up Rufus….and meet up with Ruby. Maybe we’ll figure somethin’ out on our way there.”

“St. Louis…. Sure.” She relaxed into his arms a moment, then went stiff. Her eyes shot open and she whisked her head up to look him in the eyes. “St. Louis! Of course! Why didn’t I think of this sooner? There are two men there who not only once went toe to toe with ‘Seraphim’s legal team, they almost wound up owning the entire band themselves. If their other business ventures hadn’t met with some weird offshore shenanigans, they would own ‘Seraphim’ now. We just need to find out what they did….and how they pulled it off!”

Benny gave a small frown, “Who are you talkin’ bout?”

Christina swallowed down a deep breath, “I’m talking about picking the brains of the Devil and the King of Hell themselves…… Lucifer Garrison and Fergus Crowley.”

She flashed a winning smile up at Benny, “And guess what?” Benny gave a shrug in reply, a little worry crossing his face.

Her smile shifted into something crafty, confident and assured, “Crowley owes me a _big_ favor…..”

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	16. Crowley's Meeting

 

 

St. Louis – The Ninth Circle

 

Unlike only a week ago, the Ninth Circle was now empty and silent on this Friday afternoon. Dust motes swirled lazy in the errant sunbeams that filtered their way through the windows while the rest of the venue remained dark and shadowed.  Slaughter House Four stood tense and awkward along the now deserted bar on the main floor. Sam was leaning with his back against the bar, his thumbs flying over his cell phone as he punched out text replies on it. Garth had slumped to angle his rump to sit along the brass rail at the foot of the bar, his long arms draped lazy over his knees. Kevin sat beside him, cross-legged and bent over his own lap with his focus on the game he was playing on his phone. Benny mirrored Sam, though his elbows rested on the edge of the bar and allowed his thick strong hands to dangle relaxed and seemingly carefree over the lip.

Dean however, fidgeted with his hands buried deep into his pockets. He would come and stand beside Sam or Benny, then wander out into the center of the dance floor and look up to the second floor balcony. Then he would let his eyes roam over the empty stage before moving back to the bar and repeating the process.

On Dean’s fifth pass, Benny let out a deep chuckle and snagged Dean’s sleeve with his hand. “Brutha, you’re gonna wear me out. Settled down. Christina, she knows what she’s doin’.”

Dean flashed Benny a confused look and was about to speak when Sam spoke up instead, his eyes not deviating from his phone, “He’s not worried about Christina. He’s antsy over Cas not being here yet.” Sam gave his brother a quick side long look then brought his attention back to his phone as a small smile crept at the corners of his mouth, “Jeeze Dean, you’d think you were marrying the guy….”

Dean just threw Sam a sour look, bundled his arms folded tight against his chest and drooped beside Benny, “Ha. Ha. Ha. So funny Mr I’m-Definitely-Getting-Laid-Tonight-by-Ruby.”

Sam just rolled his eyes but still didn’t look at his brother, “Actually….No. She’s not going to be able to meet up with me until tomorrow before we pick up Rufus.” He sent one last text then pocketed his phone. “And I think we’re breaking up.”

Benny frowned, “What? Why? Thought things were doing well ‘tween you two.”

Sam’s only answer was a simple shrug and a wave of his hand. Now it was his turn to wander out into the center of the dance floor and gaze up at the second floor. Unlike Dean, he stayed and didn’t move. A moment later his sight focused in on something, he nodded as if replying to someone. Then he walked back to his band mates.

“Christina is waving us up.” Sam thumbed upwards and gestured towards the stairs.

Garth shot up from where he was seated and tugged Kevin along to his feet. They started up the stairs first with Benny close behind. Dean caught Sam’s shoulder gently with his hand, holding them to walk a bit slower behind the others.

Dean dropped his voice low so only Sam could hear him, “What’s goin’ on? You and Ruby….I know it’s been awkward long distance stuff since you met her, but you guys seemed okay last weekend….did something happen?”

Sam’s hands dove deep into his pockets as he walked and he kept his eyes down, “Yea well…. I guess once Ruby announced she wanted to leave Perdition, Lucifer turned on the charm and well… They used to date and I guess he wants her back and I dunno….” Sam shrugged and his head tilted slightly so one shoulder brushed against his ear. “I mean, we had fun and I like her….but…..”

“You don’t think you’re in love with her.” Dean didn’t look over at Sam. Instead he kept his eyes on the backs of his other band members as they reached the stop of the stairs.

Sam paused and rested one hand on Dean’s arm, then lifted his eyes and looked solidly at his brother. Dean could see the emotion there; the hurt Sam was feeling and the disappointment. Sam bit his lip a little before continuing, “I thought….I thought maybe I could grow to love her. I mean, our lives didn’t clash and we had the music in common, similar goals in life…. But I just don't feel it all the way down in my blood, you know? And if she wants to go....” Sam drew in a heavy breath and shook his head, “How is it with you and Cas? You guys had what…one night…. Not even. I know he was with us all Sunday but that was rehersals and band stuff. Not private time.”

Dean gave a light jerk of his head and scrunched his face a little, “We’ve been on the phone with each other everyday since. I think I’ve logged more hours talking to Cas on the phone this week than I’ve ever talked to any other human besides you in my whole _life_ …” Dean chuckled, “…and that one night it was like…. everything just came together. As if the weird machine of my life was missing this big cog and suddenly it’s snapped into place and the pistons are firing full on and the cylinders are all primed and ready to rip.” Dean pulled his hand over his face to hide the warming nudge of rose at his cheeks, “It’s so stupid and corny. After you he's my best friend.”

They make their way to the stop of the stairs and Dean has to take a breath and pause. His eyes linger on the spot where he and Cas stood at the bar that night, and then at the spot along the rail where he had watched as Cas performed as part of ‘Seraphim’….. Where he had stood weak kneed as Cas mouted the lyrics to him, as if they were the only two souls in the whole place.

“I dunno Sam. It’s like I can’t even see my life without him in it now. I know that’s crazy. It hasn’t even been a full week! It’s just…” Dean let out a nervous bark of a laugh, “It’s like….”

“It’s just..... _right_.” Sam finished for him, his hazel eyes growing soft. He nodded his head a little and offered up a small smile to show his happiness for his brother and tried to chase off the bitter sweet tang hanging on inside himself.

“It’s insane is what it is.” Dean laughed, and then wheeled around to grasp Sam’s shoulders and nail his little yet huge brother with the brightness of his green eyes. “And someday you’ll have that nutty 'doesn’t make any sense' craziness in your life. You’ll see. So whatever, it wasn’t Ruby. It’s not the end for you. Just watch.”

Sam drank in Dean’s enthusiasm and his smile brightened a bit. They both knew the next few days would pull Sam’s heart tight and thin, and it wouldn't be easy. Dean squeezed with his hands reassuringly, and nodded once to show Sam he’d be there for his brother no matter what.

“You two okay out here?” Benny stood cautiously looking at them, one hand raised in gesture towards the next set of stairs leading to Crowley’s office.

Sam raked his hand through his hair, “Yea sure.” And then both brothers fell into step behind Benny as he led them on.

Crowley’s office was a spacious room in one of the corners of the third floor of the building, and he had installed large windows along the outer walls. The window style mimicked the original vintage windows but had been increased in size. This gave the office a magnificent view of the Mississippi River and the riverboats parked along her shore. All of it sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine.

Fergus Crowley was now standing in front of those windows, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. Near him was a huge cherry wood desk sporting a small collection of stone gargoyle statues and a very modern wide screen Mac computer. In the tufted leather chair at the desk sat Josie Sands, all teeth and smiles. The room also held a large leather couch made to match the desk chair and here sat a tall imposing man with strawberry blond hair and a sardonic smile. His gray blue eyes fizzed with some reserved mirth.

Christina was seated at the head of a nearby conference table, contracts and files deployed around her like army regiments ready to do battle. She was as relaxed back in her seat as Josie was alert and straight shouldered.

The wall Slaughter House entered on was fortified with floor to ceiling bookcases and a wet bar. As the band entered, Crowley turned and gestured to the open bar with a smile. “Help yourselves gentlemen. It looks as if we’ll have some celebrating to do....hopefully....”

Garth and Kevin moved to hover on the furthest side of the conference table along the wall, taking seats there while Benny casually moved into position next to Christina. He remained standing. When Sam entered, he took one look at the man sitting on the couch and swallowed visibly. His look darkened and he stayed standing stiff beside the exit. Sam’s eyes didn’t waiver off away off the man but didn’t challenge him either.

Dean on the other hand waltzed in, sauntered over to the wet bar and began to peruse the stock there. He selected one of the whiskeys and poured himself a small neat tumbler before turning back to face the rest of the room.

Crowley eyed Dean’s choice and with a satisfied raise of his brows turned to stand behind Josie with his hands resting gently on the back of the desk chair. “Ms Ronald, would you like to start or shall I?”

“I believe we are waiting on Mr. Garrison….”Christina shot a look at the man seated on the couch before she clarified, “Mr. Castiel Garrison.”

The man on the couch gave an interesting smirk and then leaned back, spreading one arm along it’s back. “It’ll be good to see my brother….” And his smirk pulled slowly into a cool smile; “I don’t think I’ve seen Castiel in some time. What with our differing tour schedules and all.”

Dean narrowed his eyes over the edge of his glass at the man on the couch, “So are you one of the blood brothers or one of the adopted ones?”

The man on the couch opened up his smile and now it was all teeth like Josie’s, but the smile never came near his eyes. “Blood.”

Dean took a swing of his drink, then peered back at Sam. He watched Sam’s jaw tighten and work through some of the tension building there. He turned back to the man on the couch and smirked, “Huh. Cas hasn’t mentioned you much Lucifer. But like you said, I guess it’s hard to be close to your brother… what with all your tour schedules and all….. yet…. Cas tells me your brother Gabriel seems to manage.” Dean let a wide grin hover over the lip of his glass and watched Lucifer’s smile die and the light blot out from the man’s eyes. Dean drained his glass and then turned back to the bar. His eyes instantly caught Sam’s and he winked. Sam relaxed slightly and didn’t look back at Lucifer.

Dean had just set the empty tumbler down when the office door opened and Castiel strode in. Like Crowley and Lucifer he was wearing a suit, but unlike them it was slightly rumpled and his necktie was askew. He carried a small leather portfolio in one hand and his tan trench coat gripped in the other. When he first fully entered the room, his eyes landed on Dean immediately and his whole being seemed to gravitate in Dean’s direction. He held himself a moment though and dragged his vision around the room. When he saw Lucifer seated on the couch, the smile that had begun at seeing Dean withered.

“Well hello there Castiel.” Lucifer quipped.

Crowley let out a long-suffering sigh. “Look, can we have our little family time later? My club is not going to run itself and day light is slipping away quickly.”

Christina drew her chin up and stood, “One moment, I asked Mr. Garrison, Castiel, to bring along his contract for my inspection….” She took three strides to come to Castiel, her hand out stretched. Castiel relinquished the leather portfolio he was holding to her. She opened it and studied its contents as she made her way back to the conference table. Occasionally she flipped a page but her expression did not change or shift. Once back in her seat, she closed the folio and leveled her eyes at Crowley.

With a slight nod, Crowley began walking away from behind the desk as he spoke, “Ms. Ronald here and I have been discussing with my associates….” He gestured to Lucifer and Josie, “….about your little snag…. Castiel’s still hooked to ‘Seraphim’ and isn’t legally allowed to terminate his position with the band…. And you want help wiggling free of it.” He stopped in front of the desk and casually leaned to sit slightly at its edge before gesturing to Lucifer as if encouraging the man to speak.

“Orchestrating a hostile take-over of ‘Seraphim’ and its parent label of Angeleus Records isn’t going to work this time.” Lucifer let out a tired sigh as his fingers toyed along the surface of the leather couch, “We have the funds but Michael and Raphael have restructured the company since I tried last time. We won’t be able to get in under their armor like before.”

“You were able to buy out nearly all the shares needed for controlling interest in the company is that right?” Christina asked as she looked over one of the pages to her left.

“Yes, that’s right. Nearly all…..” Lucifer waved one hand dramatically in the air, “I couldn’t get Castiel there to sell me his.” The hand came down and Lucifer gave a sarcastic wink at Castiel, “Bet you’re wishing you came on board with me after all huh Cassie?” Castiel said nothing and simply glowered at his older brother.

“Moving on.” Crowley produced a tight smile, “Ruining ‘Seraphim’ and their parent company isn’t an option. So our other options are either loop holes in the fine print, concocting some lewd scandal or….?”

“Duping them into signing away their rights.” Dean spoke up. “I’d liked to run a scam on them and get them thinking they are buying something…. Perhaps let them think they are buying controlling interest in ‘Perdition’ or in Crossroad Kiss Records…. But pull a switch and have them actually sign release papers to dissolve Cas’s contract.”

Crowley beamed at first, “I like the way you think….” He pointed a finger gingerly in Dean’s direction, “But I doubt they would nip at any bait I would throw their way……”

“On the contrary. I think they would.” Christina removed a page from a small stack of papers to her right and stood up. She walked briskly over to Crowley and handed him the paper, then kept talking as she returned to her seat, “As you can see there, the fiscal records for Angeleus Records show their margins are way down over the last two years. So much so that if the trend continues Angeleus will be down 25% of their previous profits. That’s big.”

“So you think waiving a bit juicy bite of a growing label like Crossroads Kiss Records would bring them to the table?” Lucifer frowned.

“I do. Crossroad Kiss has seen a 10% increase over the last year, and ‘Perdition’ is poised to as a serious contender in the Battle of the Bands and the Free Will Records contest. If the Garrison brothers believe that Free Will and Crossroads Kiss could merger….” Christina raised an eyebrow and looked Crowley in the eye.

Crowley nearly let out a small giggle in spite of himself. “This is fun. I can see those cherubic morons tripping over themselves to sign up.”

“Wait.” Castiel stepped forward and raised his hands up slightly, “Are you all actually considering lying, creating a fake deal to lure my brothers in believing they will be signing one set of documents.... but then switching those documents out and substituting other papers instead that would break my contract?” Cas’s eyes had narrowed down to razor points and his mouth sat at a hard line.

Lucifer carefully stood up and smoothed out his suit before looking Castiel dead in the eye to say, “Yes, actually.”

“That’s illegal.” Castiel stated and matched Lucifer’s look.

Lucifer shrugged casually, “So? It’ll get you free. Isn’t that what you want?”

Castiel lowered his hands, walked over to the conference table and scooped up his portfolio. He walked to the door, hefted his trench coat and paused before turning the knob. He looked over at Christina, then turned to Dean. “I’m sorry. I know you are trying to help. But I can’t be part of this.” Castiel dropped his gaze from Dean and exited out of the door.

It hadn’t even closed halfway and Dean had flown out of the office in close pursuit. “Cas, wait!”

The door snapped closed behind both of them with finality. 

Crowley raised one hand in the air and gestured idly. "He'll come around." He took in a sigh of a breath then shifted and speared Christina with a hungry look. The edges of his mouth curled up into a predatory smile. "So here is what I want out of this little arrangement. If I do this, provide the bait for this little party....... I want Slaughter House Four to drop out of the competition. And I want Free Will to chose Perdition to win the contest.....AND I want to have joint contracts for all of it with both Crossroads Kiss Records but utilizing Free Will Record's resources and contacts...."

"Basically you want our souls." Christina raised one brow and kept the rest of her face placid and impassive. She could feel Benny go cold next to her, and she could see Sam cringing out of the corner of her eye.

Crowley's smile deepened and he purred out, "You have no idea..."

 

**(to be continued)**


	17. Nope

 

St Louis - The Ninth Circle

 

Dean didn’t wait to hear the door click closed behind him. He was hot on Castiel’s heels, reaching for the other man as he jogged forward. Castiel had a small lead, and his strides were purposeful and sure. Dean had to hustel into an actual run to cut Castiel off before he headed down the stairs to the second level. He caught Cas just as they reached the crest of the stop step.

“Cas, please…. Slow down…..” Dean gripped the stair rail with one hand to keep from tumbling backwards and planted his other hand square in the center of Castiel’s chest to stop him.

Halted, Castiel looked up at the ceiling instead of down at Dean. “Tell me this scam wasn’t your idea Dean.” Dean flexed his fingers against Castiel’s chest and held his breath a moment. Castiel’s hand came up and covered across Dean’s, gripping hold of it tight. He repeated himself, “Tell me this wasn’t your idea.”

“It… was…. my idea….” Dean confessed, his green eyes dark in the low gloom of the empty club.

Castiel shoved Dean’s hand off of him. He shouldered around Dean and descended the stairs swiftly, his face grim. Dean pivoted on the step and followed. Castiel flew through the second floor balcony area, tugging on his trench coat as he went. He reached the top of the last stairway with unreal speed, the coat billowing out behind him. Dean kept after him, silent but determined. He chased Castiel down the last stairway and through the first level of the club. Seconds after Cas slammed through the exit door Dean made his move. He made a quick half run and drew up right into Castiel’s path. Cas dodged, his eyes cold slices of anger. But Dean expected the move and was able to catch Castiel’s ankle with his foot. It threw Cas off balance and turned him right into Dean’s arms. They spun once and Dean used the momentum to whirl Cas around to shove the man’s back against the outside wall of the club. Castiel let out a surprised gasp as the air was bumped from him and his leather portfolio was jarred from his hand to drop to the sidewalk.

Dean gripped hard to Castiel’s shoulders and kept the other man pinned. “Look! I know okay?! It was a stupid idea…..”

“Incredibly stupid Dean! Committing fraud?! What were you thinking?! You could go to prison!” Castiel seethed. “Why would you even consider doing something that ridiculous?!”

Up until that moment Dean’s face had been apologetic and contrite. Now on the direct receiving end of Castiel’s anger, Dean bristled and grimaced. He shoved Cas against the wall somewhat roughly again and glared back. “I was trying to help you alright!! I was gonna do what ever it took to get your free…. I would do… _whatever it takes_ ….to get your free….” Dean grit out and his hands squeezed Castiel’s shoulders harder. He surged in close, close enough his breath huffed out against Castiel’s mouth. He inhaled hard and sharp, but what came out was a much softer sound. Voice breaking and remorseful now, Dean looked into Castiel’s eyes. “I’m sorry Cas…. I just…..”

“I need you Cas.”

Castiel deflated and his previously tense shoulders slumped in Dean’s fists. He dropped his head forward, tipping so their brows touched. He let out an exasperated sigh and closed his eyes. “I need you too Dean.”

They mutually sagged together. Dean’s hands tugged himself to press closer, his nose and chin nudging into the fabric of the trench coat near Cas’s throat. Castiel’s arms slipped up to wind themselves around Dean’s middle, his hands splaying across Dean’s broad back. They both sighed out together, releasing their frustration and ire.

“There are better ways of solving this Dean, we’ll find something. This is too risky and it’s wrong. We’ll come up with a way, just be patient.” Cas spoke tenderly, his lips slipping against Dean’s shoulder.

Dean gave a weak shrug in answer and then after a moment said in a quiet voice, “I missed you.”

Castiel firmed up his hold on Dean and hugged him tighter. They stayed that way up against the building, silent and just basking in each other’s embrace. After a time the exit door opened near them and Sam came out. He paused when he saw them and made as if he would retreat back inside. Dean lifted his head and on seeing his brother he smiled.

“Hey Sam.” Dean shifted free of Cas, releasing his clenched hands from the rumpled trench coat fabric. Cas dropped his hands casually at his sides.

Sam rolled his eyes in relief and walked over to them. “I hate to say it but I think I’m one hundred percent with Castiel on this thing.” Dean simply nodded and shot Castiel a small look. Sam continued, “And no offense Cas but your brother Lucifer? I could do with about six hundred percent less of him. It’s like he tries to get under my skin on purpose and I definitely _never_ want that guy in my head…. Whoa no.” Sam shivered.

“He has that affect on most people.” Castiel said without emotion.

“So what happened after we left?” Dean’s brows lifted but his eyes looked weary.

Sam blinked and his eyes went wide for a moment, “Oh boy.” Sam combed his fingers through his brown hair absently, “So get this, Crowley is chomping to do this. Drooling for it like a starving hound.”

“I thought Christina was going to have to call in a favor with him to get him to help us…..” Dean looked confused.

“Guess not.” Sam thumbed over his shoulder at the club, “He wants all kinds of joint contracts with Free Will, wants Perdition a guaranteed win and…”Sam made an indignant sound, “He wants us to drop out of the contest.”

“No wonder he’s excited.” Cas said with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.

Dean barked a laugh out, “He’s got to be out of his freaky little douchebag mind!”

The exit door opened again and Garth, Kevin, Benny and Christina spilled out into the sunshine. Garth and Kevin looked traumatized, as if they had stumbled into an unexpected autopsy unprepared and then were shoved back out into the sun suddenly. Benny was bristling visibly, his usually bright eyes murky with distaste.

Christina however was smiling, chipper and nearly bouncing on her toes.

Dean threw her a scowl, “The deals off you know. We aren’t dealing with that fucker.”

Her smile gleamed brighter, “Yes. I know.”

Benny’s glower caught with surprise and he frowned more in confusion than irritation now. Garth and Kevin’s faces echoed his, and Sam looked at her like she had just sprouted six arms and an extra eye.

Dean stepped toward her skeptically, his eyes focusing down into keen points, “What are you not telling us?”

She openly winked at Benny as if she had won the lottery by being clever instead of lucky. Then she grinned at the rest of Slaughter House Four. “Dean, your idea to use a scam to extricate Castiel from his contract was a sound one…. only you set your sights on the wrong target.”

Castiel stepped away from the wall to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dean, his narrowed gaze was back only this time it was the look of someone sorting through a puzzle. His head canted to the side, “You were up there setting up Crowley, not trying to get Crowley to set up ‘Seraphim’….”

“On the nosey!” Christina tossed a lock of her hair over her shoulder lightly with one hand.

“Wait….what?!” Sam half laughed and half gasped.

“Look, no offense to Dean, but pulling a successful scam over the Garrison brothers in Seraphim has as much chance of working as I have of swimming to the moon in my undies. They would never even touch any papers we would send their way. Their legal team would handle all of it, and they’d do it with x-ray vision, wearing hazmat suits and wielding laser scopes.” She turned and began walking down the sidewalk away from the club, beckoning every to follow as she kept talking, “But Dean’s idea was actually a brilliant distraction that would use Crowley and his resources to keep Seraphim otherwise engaged and busy… looking away from Slaughter House Four and Castiel.”

Castiel openly chuckled, “Michael and Raphael would be too busy fussing over the noise Crowley will stir up over this to think twice about checking up on me and what I’m doing.”

“Exactly.” Christina reached out and her hand tangled up with Benny’s when he stepped alongside her. “Slaughter House Four has a few regular gigs scheduled before the final Battle of the Bands…. Crowley will be too busy twisting his little screws on Seraphim for anyone to notice Cas playing bass with the band at a few bars. By the time the final contest performance comes around my legal team will have had plenty of time to comb over Castiel’s contract to figure out how to tear it apart.”

“Dean’s idea bought us time.” Benny smiled.

“Yes. And it did it beautifully.” Christina let out a little pleased giggle.

“So….we aren’t dealing with Crowley and his demands.” Dean reached out and hung his arm against Castiel’s shoulder as they all walked.

“Nope” Christina smiled again.

“And we aren’t scamming Seraphim into signing off Cas’s contract.” Dean nodded, less as an actual question and more a verification.

“Exactly.” Christina stopped at a traffic intersection and nudged Benny to press the crosswalk button, which he complied. She pointed to the steak house a block away and the rest of the group gave subtle nods in agreement. A good meal and a little celebration was definitely in order.

“Does your boss at Free Will Records know you are playin’ Seraphim and Crowley off each other?” Benny lifted one brow. The sparkle had come back into his blue eyes as he looked at Christina

She gave out a small low laugh, “Oh he knows. That man is practically a god. He knows all, sees all….”

“And he’s okay with it?” Castiel gave her a curious look.

“More than okay with it.” She smiled secretively, “He loves that kind of mischief.”

 

**(to be continued)**


	18. Winchester Class

 

 

Lawrence, Kansas

 

 The following day the band collected Rufus from the hospital. They immediately drove him to the nearest diner for a cheeseburger after his loud complaints about the hospital food. Afterwards Sam said his farewells and went off to meet up with Ruby to talk with her. Christina needed to return to Chicago, so she and Benny broke off from the group for a while to take a walk, say their farewells and be alone. Benny promised he’d make sure to get Sam back to Lawrence safely. This left Garth and Kevin in the back of the Impala, with Rufus riding shotgun and Castiel following behind in his own car. The drive back to Kansas was uneventful and they made fairly good time. Once they passed into the Lawrence city limits, Rufus was met at his home by his sister, and Dean dropped Kevin and at Garth at their homes.

 It was well after the sun had dipped itself into the horizon and the stars had come dancing out into the sky, that Dean pulled his Baby into the driveway of the house he shared with Sam. Castiel parked his car behind, turned of the ignition and sat for a moment just staring at the house.

 Dean creaked open the driver's side door of the Impala and looked back at Cas. Then he followed Cas’s line of sight and frowned slightly. He shut the car door and wandered back to stand beside Cas’s car. He gently tapped on the driver’s side window and Castiel rolled it open.

 “Yes Dean?” Cas looked up, his eyes wide and tinted with nervousness.

 “Gonna sit in your car all night?” Dean crouched down, folded his arms and propped his elbows on the edge of the window so he was eye level with Castiel.

 “No…I….” Cas stopped and took in a quick breath. He dropped his eyes to his fingers resting on the steering wheel. He rubbed a thumb against its surface a moment, then glanced up at the house once more. “Are you certain it’s alright if I stay here? I can get a hotel room. I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”

 “You’re nervous…..” Dean said, his voice low and soft. Castiel’s eyes flicked over to catch Dean’s. Dean let a half smile tug at the edge of his mouth, “We haven’t known each other for that long and you’re thinkin’ maybe it’s too soon for you to be staying with me and my brother. That maybe this is weird or awkward.” Cas said nothing but the edges of his eyes went a little wider. Dean nudged at Cas’s shoulder and let the smile on his lips loosen up and grow, “It’s okay. I won’t be offended if you’d feel better sleeping someplace else. At least come in for a bit though huh? Have a beer or something. You hungry?” Dean stood up, “I think I have food in the house. Not sure though, it was Sam's turn to shop this week. Might only have green leafy salad type stuff.”

 “Actually I was remembering my brother Gabriel joking with me about how you and Sam are really sociopathic killers who carry an arsenal of weaponry in your trunk and if I went home with you my bones would probably salted and burned in your basement.” Castiel blinked once. Slowly.

 Dean let off a howl of a laugh and hefted his car keys, “You wanna see what’s in my trunk Cas?” He swaggered over to the back end of the Impala and slipped the key into the lock. He turned it and let the trunk pop open. He pulled it wide and gestured for Castiel to inspect its contents.

 Cas exited his car carefully and came up to stand beside Dean. Dean reached in along the side, pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on. Inside the back of the trunk were cables and wires, a blanket roll, two bottles of motor oil, a tire jack and another flash light. Cas gave a weak apologetic smile to Dean, but in response Dean snapped the flashlight right up under his chin and bubbled out a cheesy cartoon villain laugh.

 “MWHA HA HA HA….” Dean wiggled his brows and continued speaking in an awful fake Transylvanian accent. “Yes but vhat about zhe zeekret kompartment?!?”

 Cas frowned and squinted at Dean, “What?”

 Dean rolled his eyes and lowered the flashlight back to the trunk. With his other hand he reached in, snapped something along the back lip and the bottom of the trunk lifted up. Dean raised it and secured it. “The secret compartment….” Dean shone the flashlight in and Cas held his breath.

 Inside were guitar cases. Two of them, sitting neatly between strips of gray spongy foam padding. One case was a typical guitar shape but the other was square and looked vintage. Castiel glanced at Dean and Dean nodded with an encouraging smile.

 Ever so carefully Castiel reached in and removed the vintage case. Dean let go of the faux lid and grabbed the other case, brushing his shoulder against Castiel’s shoulder as he did. With his flashlight hand he shut the fake lid, then turned off the flashlight and tossed it into the trunk. Then Dean shut the trunk and smiled at Cas.

 “Let’s get these inside, then we’ll come back out and bring in your bass….”Dan paused, his eyes suddenly concerned. “You brought your bass right?”

 Castiel cradled the vintage case reverently and he gave Dean a small pleased smile, “Of course.”

 “Good! We’ll jam while we wait for Sam to get back….” Dean began wandering toward the front door and Castiel’s smile warmed, the apprehension draining from his shoulders as he followed. Dean fiddled with the keys as he walked, “This was my Dad’s house…. He built the studio…. It was like a den or guest bedroom or something. He and Bobby….that’s a family friend…. They worked for about a year fixing it just right. The acoustics are great and we have a mixing table… a small one mind you…. And some recording gear. Sam’s damn keyboards take up a lot of the space now…..” Dean chuckled and Castiel eyes danced as he listened to Dean ramble on with enthusiasm. Dean unlocked the front door and reached inside to finger on two switches. A porch light came on beside the door outside and an interior lamp came to life inside.

 “You know, we could do Chinese too if you want. There is a great place a couple of blocks from here that Sam really loves….I think they are still open this late on a Saturday.” Dean led Cas back through the living room and down a long a hallway into the studio. He set the one guitar case down along one wall and turned to take the other case from Cas.

 Cas had followed, but hesitated to hand over the case. He was looking down at it and one finger was stroking along one of the opening latches. “Can I see it?” His big blue eyes came up to look at Dean and there was a veil of desire sparking in them.

 Dean felt his cheeks warm and a sudden shy smile came over his face, “Yea, sure…”

 Castiel lifted the case carefully and rested it steadily on the lip of one of the tables holding the recording gear. He deftly popped open the latches and lifted the lid. When the deep blood red sheen of the Impala’s wood came into view Castiel let out a small sigh. “This is the guitar you used when we played at the auditions.” There was a low heat to Castiel’s voice now. “It’s so beautiful.”

 Dean came to stand at Castiel’s side and he looked down to the guitar. He dug his thumbs into the edges of his pockets but his arm dragged lightly against Castiel’s side. He swallowed and nodded, “It was my Dad’s guitar. 1965 Hagstrom Impala…. Built at the Hagstrom plant in Alvdalen, Sweden. Dad bought it in the late 80s or early 90s…. not sure…. He fixed her up, gave her that color. She’s magnificent.” His eyes were on the guitar but the rest of his body was hyper aware now of Castiel and the warmth bleeding from Cas into himself.

 Castiel shifted on his feet and it brought his body leaning against Dean’s arm more. “Impala car…. Impala guitar.” Cas ran a few of his fingers lightly along the edge of the bridge, “Consistant.”

 Dean licked his lips and felt a spool of arousal, anticipation and excitement coil in his stomach. He dropped his weight all onto the hip that was closest to Cas, and it pressed them close. “Or dully predictable….” He chuckled low.

 Castiel withdrew his fingers from the guitar, “I don’t think there is anything dull or predictable about you Dean Winchester….” He dragged his eyes away from the guitar to look at Dean. “Do you have any idea just how maddeningly erotic you are when you are playing?” The fingers that had been touching the Hagstrom Impala were now curling purposefully around Dean’s hand, plucking it up away from his pocket.  “How gorgeous you are?” Castiel cupped Dean’s hand into both of his own and let his thumbs stroke across the heel of Dean’s hand. “How mesmerizing…..?” Castiel let his eyes drop closed as he brought Dean’s hand up to his lips. He parted them, and placed an open suckling kiss to the inside flesh of Dean’s palm.

 “Cas….” Dean’s voice broke, “Wh… what happened to…. to…”Cas was kissing across Dean’s hand, lips puckering moist against his knuckles, his fingers, his palm again. Dean felt his heart speed up and his bones go liquid. “What h…happened to…”

 “If you were going to hit me over the head and drag me off and kill me, you would have done it already….” Castiel smirked slightly, and flared open his eyes. He speared Dean with an unwavering burning look, then guided Dean’s hand up along his own shoulder and placed it on the back of his neck. “Now are you going to kiss me properly…. Finally…. Or am I going to start feeling rejected and neglected?”

 Dazed, Dean flexed the fingers of that hand and laced them through Castiel’s soft dark hair there. He pulled Cas close and held his lips a bare breath from Dean’s own. A playful smile hitched at the corner of Dean’s mouth and he whispered against Castiel’s “Wanna do a lot more than that with you Cas….”

 Dean tugged hard, meaning to press their mouths together quick and firm, but Cas resisted, his own tease of a smile now flickering in his eyes. His own hand snapped up to hold the back of Dean’s neck in mimic and then began a playful push and shove trying to get the other man to fold in and be the one taken. Soon they had shuffled into the hallway, nearly wrestling, grins on their faces and their hands grappling each other. Dean caught Castiel’s thigh between his own legs and trapped it, but then Cas pivoted his weight and pressed Dean against the wall. Dean’s free hand shucked the shoulder of Castiel’s trench coat off and back, trapping Cas’s arm. Cas shifted his weight once more and pulled Dean free of the wall, then twisted him hard. Their balance went off and they bounced against the other wall, then tumbled to the hallway floor. Their legs were twisted and their arms were tangled and they were laughing deep and happy.

 Dean nudged himself up a little and brought his face to hover over Cas’s. For a long moment he just drank in the sight of those wide blue eyes and let their slightly panting breaths mingle. Then Dean dipped gently forward, closed his eyes and gave Cas the kiss he had been aching to give him since Cas had walked into the office in St. Louis. He took his time, let the press and slide linger. Lips barely open, moving in a loving caress and Castiel gave back in kind. The tip of Dean’s tongue snuck out and added itself in, and Cas answered with more fervent pressure.

 They were still intertwined like this and making out like teenagers when the toes of two worn boots came to rest near their heads. They broke their kiss and looked up.

 Sam peered down at them from an impossible altitude. “Really Dean? In the hallway? On the floor?” He tsked, shook his head and stepped over them. “So much for Winchester class.”

 

**(to be continued)**


	19. Knuckleheads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest heart felt apologies to those of you who have been waiting by far too long for me to update this.  
> I do not deserve you. Please forgive me. I do truly feel really crappy for not being able to update this sooner.  
> I'm doing what I can to make sure this fic gets finished, and that you will have a proper fully realized story.
> 
> *Knucklehead's Saloon is a real place in Kansas City. If I did a disservice to them in my description, I apologize. I did as much research about them as resources would allow. The diner in this chapter is purely fictional to my knowledge.

 

**Kansas City, MO. – Knucklehead’s Saloon***

 

The outside of Knucklehead’s Saloon looked like it had been built back during the Wild West. It sat on a corner two stories high, with clapboard sides and a rough honky-tonk look. Dean swore Bobby and Ellen would love the place if they ever set eyes on it. Inside it was huge with a roomy wide stage and a giant neon sign across the back shouting out the bar name.

The load in at the Saloon was easy enough. Slaughter House Four had played here before and knew the staff and the owners. This was one of the first places they had played when the band was just getting on it's feet, opening for other well known local rock or blues bands. The Winchester brothers held a fondness for the place, and they were both excited to be playing there once more. The band arrived early and enjoyed being welcomed like old friends.

Castiel, for the most part, had been absorbed into the band easily. His initial antagonism with Benny was smoothing away now that Benny started seeing how dedicated Castiel was to the band as a whole, not just to Dean. Castiel and Sam had bonded easily as well, as Castiel was well versed in a lot of the literature that Sam enjoyed. They also, to Dean's amusement, had spent a full day talking about Sam's synth set up. And as Dean put it while teasing them, "Totally geeking out". During load in at Knucklehead's Cas hauled in half of Benny’s drum set, helped with Sam’s gear and even followed Garth and Kevin back into the sound booth to go over the sound set up with Knucklehead Saloon’s stage crew.

Slaughter House Four were playing alone tonight, not opening or following anyone. Christina had called the local rock radio station and gotten them to come out to record the gig to broadcast the following day, as well as do a give away of band merchandise; Slaughter House Four t-shirts and posters. She also had set up a small interview with the band before the show started that would be broadcast live before the show.

The interview was going to take place in a little old diner near the Saloon, and that was where Christina and the band were now. With her was her former assistant, Jessica Moore, who would be stepping into Christina’s old position at Free Will Records in Chicago when the battle of the band’s contest was over. For now though, Christina and Jessica were working in tandem.

At the moment Christina was with one of the radio station sound techs discussing how they were setting their mics up, while Jessica went over the questions the radio station disc jockey would be asking the band. Around them, another radio station tech was doing sound level and feedback tests.

The band had sat down at the lunch counter of the old diner, waiting for the interview to start. Benny was running through some finger exercises while looking over the set list they had all decided on. Sitting on the stool next to him, Castiel was on his phone, texting Gabriel and telling him about that night’s show. On the other side of Cas was Dean, elbows propped on the counter, peeking over at Castiel’s texts with one curious brow raised. When Dean turned to Sam on his other side to joke about little brothers and their sass and their texting, he noted that Sam’s attention was drawn elsewhere.

Sam kept half turning and looking over his shoulder at the radio DJ and the new girl, Jessica, from the record company.

When Sam did it for the fourth time, Dean elbowed him roughly in the side, and grinned as he did it. “Take a picture Sammy, it’ll last longer.”

Sam turned back around, frowning. He had his hands resting on the counter, and he was lacing and unlacing his fingers together over and over. “Shut up Dean.”

“She’s cute.” Dean gave a quick sweep of his eyes to Jessica, then looked back to Sam. “And if she’s Christina’s protégé, she’ll be smarter than you can handle.” Dean grinned again. Pleased with his jest.

“Thanks Bitch.” Sam half glared at Dean. His lips curved up in a little smile however, knowing his brother was just teasing him.

“My pleasure Jerk.” Dean’s smile grew wider, “Seriously though, you doing okay? You and Ruby….”

Sam shrugged. “It was a good while it lasted.” He pulled his hands down and rested them on his thighs, and looked at Dean. Sam's hazel eyes looked tired, resigned. “But it’s over now, and she’s moved on and…” Sam gave a weak half shrug.

“Play the field Sam, you’re too young to get tied down to one person.” Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder and waggled his brows, “And our star is rising. When we hit the big time, we are gonna be rollin’ in groupies!”

Dean didn’t see it, but Sam caught how Castiel stiffened at Dean’s words, side eyeing Dean a little while still pretending to be texting on his phone. Sam was about to say something, to down play the whole groupie thing as a bad joke when Christina came over and announced it was time to do the interview.

The band was brought over to a large round corner booth and small mics were clipped to their shirts and collars. The radio DJ had them slide into the booth while he pulled up a chair and placed his notes on the table in front of him. He was a younger guy, and looked like he was more hipster than rocker with his knit beanie hat, striped shirt and skinny jeans. But he smiled big and made the band at ease with his easy going nature.

One reason the band had been seated around this corner booth was so they would all fit together with the radio DJ while seated, but there was an added bonus. A large window the looked out into the street was to the side of the booth. It also let a small crowd of growing on-lookers gather around to watch the interview as it was broadcast live on the air. And they could hear it from large speakers mounted to the radio station’s van parked in front of the diner.

By the time the radio DJ had the band finish discussing how they had originally formed, and talked about Sam and Dean’s father John and his history in the music industry, there were a group of ten girls peering in through the window as they listened. They were all giggling and smiling and taking pictures with their phones.

And the radio DJ started to play that up.

“So I see you have some fans gathered outside here now, probably excited to see Slaughter House Four take the stage tonight at Knucklehead's Saloon….. especially after the sexually charged performance I hear you gave at the audition show for Free Will Records’ battle of the bands contest in Saint Louis, at The Ninth Circle.....” The radio DJ smiled big now, “Which I heard was even more raunchy than your usual stage antics. Dean, you have anything to say about that?”

Dean leaned back and let a cocky grin dance across his face, “Mick Jagger once said, ‘Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.’ I think that goes for more than just music. We humans are built to be sexual creatures. Our bodies were built with all these nerves and receptors hard wired to our brains for pleasure, and I think we were given that gift to enjoy it.” Dean hitched one brow up and licked his lips, “And it’s all about rhythm isn’t it? Moving, grooving, Mmmhn…” Dean bit his lip and side-eyed the group of girls just beyond the window. “Rockin’ and rollin’.”

When the girls outside broke out in squeals, and more giggles, Dean gave them a lewd wink and then turned his attention back to the radio DJ. Benny chuckled and shook his head and Sam looked at Dean like he had grown two more heads with one of them singing in Esperanto.

Castiel however remained stoic, and looked away. He fumbled slightly with his fingers under the table, said nothing during the entire interview. He looked less and less pleased with Dean as the interview went on when Dean did everything he could to stoke the reactions of the girls outside. When Dean playfully got up and sat on the edge of the booth’s back, leaned against the window and planted a kiss there on the glass, Castiel unclipped his mic and slipped out of the booth.

He crossed over to Christina and Jessica, both with confused faces, and told them quietly he wasn't feeling well before he made his way to the back of the diner and slipped into the men’s room. He stayed there until the interview was over.

When the interview ended the band was hustled outside to meet the crowd, pushing through them to get to the side entrance to Knucklehead’s Saloon as part of the P.R. frenzy Christina was trying to create around them. Helping them get their name out there more to gain a bigger following.

Once they were within the bar, Slaughter House Four left the crowd outside. They went to the green room to get ready for their sets and to change clothing. Kevin and Garth were currently back there as well, both doing final checks on some of the radio transmission gear Dean would be wearing if he jumped into the crowd while he was playing. While Garth and Kevin secured wires and transmitters to Dean and his guitar, Dean stole a glance over at Castiel.

Cas sole focus now was on his bass. He was wiping down its body with a soft cloth, polishing it with gentle but firm strokes. As he did, the lacquered surface began to shine exquisitely.

Dean was watching Castiel’s fingers move over the instrument, caring for it, and he licked his lips. Cas’ fingers were long and strong, and even though they were calloused from years of playing, they were beautiful. Dean watched as they slid up the neck of the bass, lithely circling it and stroking up and down to clean the sides and back. Dean felt his cheeks heat up as he imagined Cas doing that movement with those fingers in other more intimate ways. He wanted to push past Kevin and Garth and get his hands all over Castiel, get Castiel's hands all over him in return. All the talk about sex earlier had really set Dean in a mood, a mood he wanted to let loose all over Cas.

But Castiel wouldn’t look up, wouldn’t look over and Dean couldn’t move because if he did Garth and Kevin would have to start all over again. Dean bit his lip when Cas finished and put the cloth away, closing up his bass guitar case. When Cas turned around, his bass guitar in hand, Dean grinned lopsidedly at him.

“Hey Cas….” Dean’s voice was throaty and warm. He was going to have a hard time not rutting up on Castiel on stage as they played. His instant thought after that one was that the first thought was an excellent idea and he started planning ways to make that actually happen while they were playing. "Cas?" Dean couldn't hide the lusty edge that tinted his voice now.

Castiel looked at Dean once. It was a hard menacing gaze, full of fuel and sparking with warning.

“Cas, not for nothing, but the last time someone looked at me like that...I got laid...” Dean smiled and winked at Castiel. Dean was half hard in his jeans already, loving that furious look Cas was giving him.

Castiel lowered his head, still pinning Dean with his eyes and he made to take a step forward, his mouth opening to say something. But then his steeled his mouth closed, lifted his head, drew in a breath and turned away. He walked out the door towards the stage carrying his bass guitar without looking back. Benny and Sam followed him out, ready to take the stage; Benny’s fingers taped up and Sam combing his fingers through his hair.

“Okay you are good to go Dean,” Garth patted Dean on the shoulder and stepped away, “We’ve got a mic on you too, so you can sing if you start running around. The radio station is taping everything to broadcast tomorrow sometime, but we’ve tweaked the levels on all the gear so it should sound just fine.” Garth gave Dean a thumbs up and then he and Kevin wandered out, heading back to the sound booth at the side of the venue.

Dean turned around looked at himself in the mirror a moment. He smiled a little, still flush from watching Cas polish his bass guitar and still sporting some wood from thinking about Castiel’s hands. He wondered if he could get Cas hard on stage too as he spiked his hair up a little with his fingers. Finally he reached around to shift the small power pack at his lower back, clipped to the waistband of his jeans. He made sure it wouldn’t slip out if he writhed around too much.

“Need a hand with that?”

Dean spun around to find a young woman standing in the door to the room. She was eyeing him up and down with her gray eyes and idly twirling the end of a lock of cinnamon coloured hair around her finger. She was dressed all in red, and it accentuated her caramel smooth skin. She had on a little crop top and leather pants that look like they were her second skin. When she saw the line of his boner showing through his jeans her lips pulled up in a sultry smile.

“I heard your interview on the radio…” She purred and walked over to him, then pressed him back against the mirror, her hands fanning across his tight black t-shirt.

“Uh, have we met?” Dean blinked, half surprised unsure of what was happening.

“Just now actually….” She brazenly leaned against him, shifting one hand to feel along the planes of Dean’s torso. She planted a kiss to his cheek, leaving a mark of red lipstick there.

“Hey now, that’s enough of that. I have a boyfriend…..” Dean swallowed nervously and moved his hands to her shoulders with the intent of pushing her gently, but firmly, away.

“Really? Sounds great, he can join in too.” In her high-heeled boots, it was nothing for her to reach up and plant a solid kiss to Dean’s lips with her own.

When Dean got a good grip on her a half beat later and pushed her back, he didn’t see the pleased smile on her face. He didn’t see the flirty aim of her gaze on his lipstick-smeared mouth. He didn’t see her cleavage or the shine on her hair from the green room’s lights. He didn’t see any of that.

All Dean saw was Castiel’s shocked and hurt expression. Castiel’s eyes tracking the lipstick on his face, the left over flush of his cheeks and the semi-hardness in Dean’s jeans.

Cas was standing just inside the door now, his blue eyes looking shattered. He stared at Dean for a full moment before his lips parted slightly, his head half twisted in disbelief. For another breath Castiel just held there, and then he crossed the room to his bass guitar case and opened it.

Dean shoved the young woman aside and closed the distance between where he had been standing and where Cas was now. He dragged the back of his hand across his mouth to try to wipe away the red there. Dean opened his mouth to protest that it wasn’t what Castiel thought. That she had instigated everything and that he would never……

But Cas silenced Dean with a glare. “Don’t!”

“But Cas…” Dean laid his arms open, his palms up, pleading.

“No. I heard you during the radio interview. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Sure. Right." Castiel pulled his bass guitar strap out of his case. 

“Cas I was just doing that to work up the crowd!” Dean dropped his hands to his sides.

“Were you going to do _‘that’_ to work up the crowd as well?” Castiel growled and pointed to the woman dressed in the red leather pants. She was leaning back against the wall now looking bored. Cas slammed his case shut and whipped around on his heel to leave.

“Now hold on!” Dean reached out and caught Castiel’s shoulder, and yanking a bit harder than he needed to, brought Cas back around to face him. “You can’t just go around making presumptions about stuff!”

“Yes. You’re right Dean. I presumed I knew you.” Castiel pointed his chin out and narrowed his eyes coldly, “This thing between us…. happened fast. Maybe too fast. I don’t really know you do I? And how can I trust someone I don’t really know?” Castiel dropped his gaze up and down Dean once, then met Dean’s eyes again, “I guess when I fell for you, I fell for an idea I had of you…..”

That hit Dean hard. His mouth worked open and his brows pinched together, “Wh…what?”

Castiel squared his shoulders and leaned back, “I’ll do tonight's show, and be there at rehearsals… I'll see this all the way to the final contest. I won’t abandon my commitment to the rest of the band. But as far as you and I are concerned, we’re in a professional relationship only. I’ll be moving out of your home tomorrow.”

Still brimming with fury, Castiel turned to the woman who was still in the room, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy the rest of the show.” Without looking at Dean again, Castiel stalked out of the room.

Dean stood there, his mouth open. The horror and the hurt of what had just happened was slowly bleeding into his eyes, making them shift from their hot bright green into a muted grayed out hue. His shoulders slumped and his fingers just hung limp at his sides. 

The woman in red gave a small sigh and she sauntered up to Dean as she looked at the now empty doorway, “Yea, you should have just stuck to tapping that boy. He’s hot as hell.” She looked at Dean and a slow wicked smile rolled across her lips. Slowly she backed out of the room, “By the way Dean, you made this way too easy.”

Dean blinked at that, his eyes refocusing. “What are you talking about?”

Her grin soured into something cold, “Lucifer and Perdition send their regards. Have a good show.....” And with that she was gone.

Dean’s hands balled up into tight fists as he stomach dropped into a sick weight in his gut. He had been played. Castiel had been played. Lucifer had purposely set them up to drive a wedge between them.

“That fucking smarmy bastard.” Dean spat. He knotted up all his rage and his hurt and his disgust into a hard cold lump in his chest. Then he stormed out onto the stage and poured it all into the music.

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	20. Lowrider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> War's 'Lowrider' Remix by Ganja Kru  
> http://groovelicious.tumblr.com/post/84630412507/take-a-little-trip-with-me
> 
> Steppenwolf's Magic Carpet Ride remix by the Crystal Method:  
> http://the-mark-of-eshcaine.tumblr.com/post/36576004479/steppenwolf-magic-carpet-ride-crystal-method
> 
> The Highdive in Champaign, IL is a real place.   
> Once, long ago, I was one of the weekly DJs there.  
> My rushed descriptions of it did not do it justice. It's a great place.

 

****

****

 

**Champaign, IL – The Highdive.**

_Saturday June 22. Two Weeks Later…._

 

The disc jockey that would be playing before, after and in between their sets tonight had started their warm up. Light airy tones lifted up out of the massive blocky speakers that were mounted on either side of the stage. Filtered within, the recognizable[ “Take a little trip with me…..”](http://groovelicious.tumblr.com/post/84630412507/take-a-little-trip-with-me) lyrics floated out followed by the quick horn notes of the classic 70s rock song “Lowrider”. The mellow intro to the remix then brought in the funky clap of bongos, and then the familiar bass took over. The song changed up however, and a more modern drum and bass beat took over, running under the classic song, bringing it a fresh edge.

Much like the venue they were in now.

The Highdive was an old bar in a small Illinois city’s downtown. The building the bar was housed in, built in the late 1800s, was steeped in rumors that ran the spectrum from the place being owned by some old codger who had abandoned the property to its fate, to the rumors of the place being haunted by twenty some supposed ghosts. Sam knew it was more likely the former. Slaughter House Four had played here three or four times over the last two years, and again they were very friendly with the sound guy, the bouncers and the resident DJ. Sam especially. He knew about the hidden entrance to the secret third floor… where the roof had holes and the bouncers had to go up in there and empty the large plastic garbage cans that caught the water when it stormed or snowed. He knew about the tall long stairs leading up that was disguised within the center wall that ran down the middle of the Highdive, and he knew about the strange but beautiful hand painted wall murals in the hallway running the length of the third floor. One of them was of a mermaid seated on an island, her long pale hair floating on an imagined breeze.

Sam was leaning back, standing in a corner of the DJ booth that overlooked the dance floor and stage area below. The usual resident disc jockey wasn’t there tonight, and instead one of his local DJ friends had been asked to handle the decks during Slaughter House Four’s gig tonight. Where the regular DJ was nearly as tall as Sam, this woman was short, shorter than even Kevin, and Sam found it kind of comical how she had to stand on her tiptoes to look over the far edge of the DJ gear to see the bar spread out below. Her disc jockey name was Nhyrvana, and she had been joking back and forth with the band since they had arrived, making them feel right at home, just like always.

The band’s gear was loaded in and set up, and Kevin had gone to make himself at home in the sound booth at the back of the bar. Garth was just on the other side of the DJ booth setting up Dean’s remote wireless mic and the transmitter for his guitar while Dean stood there with his arms up out of the way, nodding his head to the beat of the music.

The area they were in was a small second story loft inside the bar with a pool table and a few stools along the wall. From the DJ booth, you could look out over the two halves of the bar; the dance floor and stage area in front, and then behind the booth, out over the second bar and the booth tables. The venue was long, narrow and tall. With it’s exposed brick walls and rich colorful lighting; it was a hot spot of music in Central Illinois.

To get up into the loft area, a person had to climb a full narrow straight flight of stairs that was open and exposed on one side save for a small waist high wall. Castiel was climbing these steps now, rubbing his hands together to warm his fingers up for playing. When he got into the loft area, he bypassed Dean without a look and went straight into the DJ booth to stand next to Sam.

Since their falling out, Castiel had moved out of the guest room at Sam and Dean’s home and taken up residence at a local motel that had a small kitchenette. He made it to all the rehearsals that Dean scheduled and he contributed much the same as he had been at their shows. He spent time with Sam, with Benny, with Garth and with Kevin. But he refused to see Dean outside of Slaughter House Four business. At the rehearsals he was curt with Dean, but polite, and at the shows he kept his distance until they were on stage.

Now he was standing next to Sam, elbow to elbow in the DJ booth. The two of them had become good friends in the meantime, and Sam found himself really wishing that Dean would just apologize for his behaviour back in Kansas City. He hated how hurt Cas was, and how hurt Dean was, and how strained the air got when they were around each other. Sam had told Kevin that it felt like that part of a bad sci-fi flick where something wrong had happened that wasn’t supposed to happen, and he was just waiting for the heroes to come back in time and fix the errant slip up to make everything all better again. Correct the time stream so all would be well once more. Kevin had agreed fully.

Benny found the rift between Dean and Cas mildly amusing. He had basically told Dean flat out that this was mainly Dean’s fault and that Dean had it coming. But also Benny felt that maybe it was about time that Dean got a little payback for all the people had just loved and left all the time they had been on the road with the band. Meanwhile Benny had confessed to Christina in private that he knew this would eventually blow over. Benny wasn’t blind, and he saw the longing looks Dean would give Cas. He also saw how Castiel would steal looks at Dean when Dean wasn’t looking. Benny’s exact words to Christina one night were, “Those two love fools won’t stay apart for much longer.”

Sam on the other hand was worried. He had begun to become close friends with Cas, and he saw how good Cas would be for Dean. Sam also decided he really enjoyed having Cas as a friend in its own right, and he didn’t like how strained rehearsals were at times. But Sam was even more worried about Dean. His brother wasn’t eating well or sleeping well, and when they would sit down to write new songs, Dean was overly focused on the bass parts, or parts he thought Castiel would sing. He fussed over those parts to the point that he lost sight of the overall piece, and they hadn’t put together anything new in weeks. Sam knew his brother had fallen hard for Castiel, and his deepest worry was that his brother would never truly recognize it. Sam feared Dean would lose Cas, for good, and it wasn’t about the band not having a bass player. It was about Sam wanting Dean to be truly happy in life. He knew Cas could do that.

For now though, Sam was just happy to get through a show without something awful happening.

In the DJ booth, Nhyrvana was now blending in [a new song](http://the-mark-of-eshcaine.tumblr.com/post/36576004479/steppenwolf-magic-carpet-ride-crystal-method) in on the tail of the ‘Lowrider’ remix. A rough guitar drone was punched up with breaky drums and bass and the vocal came jumped up with the beat.

“I like to dream,  
right between the sound machine  
On a cloud of sound I drift in the night….  
Any place it goes is right….  
Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here….”

Garth was finished with Dean and he waved to Sam and Cas as he made his way downstairs to join Kevin. Dean hovered for a long moment, obviously wresting with the choice of joining Sam and Cas in the DJ booth or heading downstairs to check out the growing crowd in the bar.

Sam caught the look on Dean’s face and he gave Castiel a light nudge. Sam bent over to talk close to Castiel’s ear. “C’mon Cas. You gotta talk to Dean sooner or later. Might as well start now.”

Castiel side-eyed Sam with a look of mild irritation then caught a glimpse of Dean’s face as Dean turned away. The sadness seen there couldn’t be mistaken. Castiel frowned, felt his stomach knot up with tension, felt his heart start to hammer in his chest. He gave Sam a small nod, then exited the DJ booth.

Dean had wandered over to sit on the edge of the pool table, his head down looking at his fingers clasped loose in front of him. His shoulders sagged as if his whole body was being pressed down towards the ground.

Cas took in a deep breath and then stepped in front of Dean. He kept his hands held low by his sides but his fingers fidgeted. He saw Dean catch sight of Cas in the corner of his eye, and Cas held very very still.

“I’ve sent you like, a million texts so far Cas,” Dean mumbled, “You ever gonna talk to me again?”

“You’ve sent me two hundred and fifty-three texts as of noon today Dean. Not a million.” Cas corrected him, his voice a little flat. But one of Castiel’s hands now smoothed slow against Cas’s thigh, calm and less agitated.

“Ah, well….” Dean raised his head and was about to speak when Kevin’s voice came yelling up from the bar below.

“DEAN! SAM!!”

Dean glanced at Castiel for a half second before he slid off the edge of the pool table and made his way over to look down into the bar. Sam joined him on one side and Castiel on the other. They peered down to see Kevin looking panicked and pale. He was gesturing wildly back to the front of the bar and motioning for the three of them to come down quickly.

Puzzled, the trio did and when they got to the bottom of the stairs, Kevin was more than just edgy and upset. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“The guy!” Kevin blurted out at a loss for breath, “The guy is here!”

Sam frowned, “What guy Kevin?”

“The shooter!” Kevin swallowed hard, “The guy who shot Rufus! He’s here!

Sam and Dean’s both went tense, rigid. Beside them Castiel’s face grew dark.

“Are you sure?!” Dean looked angry now, livid.

Kevin shook his head adamantly as the brothers and Cas came down the stairs. They met Kevin at the bottom.

“At the bar, on the other side…. In the brown baseball cap and the blue jacket…” Kevin gripped his hand on the stair’s rail, “Garth and I watched the video the cops took from the hotel. Saw it a bunch of times because the cops were asking if we knew the guy…..”

Sam gave a reassuring pat to Kevin’s shoulders and asked him to go find Benny out by the van before he and Dean quickly moved to the other side of the bar, into the dance floor area. The crowd had filled in the place now and many people had taken to the dance floor to get their groove on. It took the brothers a moment of weeding through the crowd looking for the brown baseball hated man. Finally Dean spotted the guy at the other end of the bar, finishing off a bottle of beer.

Castiel was at Dean’s elbow now and Dean leaned back to tell Cas to call the police. Castiel nodded and moved to the back of the bar, going outside to the rear deck to make the call. Sam and Dean then pressed forward through the crowd to make their way to the front of the venue where the man stood.

The brothers traded a quick series of looks with each other, nodding and flicking their eyes between each other and where the man in the baseball hat was standing. Dean moved head on towards the man while Sam moved around, coming from the right, flanking the guy.

They were nearly within reaching distance and Dean had lifted one hand to grab the man’s jacket when the man made eye contact with Dean. The man’s eyes went wide, frightened and then a second later he was bolting. He shoved past the few people near the secondary entrance and broke through the door, fleeing outside to the street.

Dean gave chase, hot on his heels, barely a half moment behind the man. Sam wasn’t far behind, but enough that for a second he lost sight of Dean as Dean launched out of the bar’s door and made a hard right.

By the time Sam had gone through the door and rounded the corner to the sidewalk, Dean and the man were running full tilt down along the street. They had threaded between the parked cars and were moving along the pavement, sandwiched between those cars and traffic.

Sam poured on the speed to catch up, trying to keep one eye on his brother and one eye on the cars in the road. A few were honking as the man and Dean flew past them, heading for the intersection at the corner. Sam held his breath for a moment, hoping the man would dart right and follow the corner around the block, but instead he fled straight ahead, crossing the street against the traffic and the oncoming cars.

And Dean followed, jogging between cars and dashing out of the way when one came too close. Soon he and the man were across the street and headed down the road, still keeping to the street.

Sam’s heart was slamming out wildly in his chest as he reached the corner. Fate was with Sam, the light changing just as he arrived and he was able to run with the flow of traffic instead of against it. He peeled down the street and began to catch up to Dean.

The man was at the next corner now, and he paused for a half second to look back at Dean who was right behind. He twisted away, leaping forward to run across the street just as Dean was about to reached him. Dean threw an arm out to grab for the man as they tumbled off the curb.

Suddenly there was a loud rush of sound, then a sickening thud backed by a hollow metal echo. A car had come around the corner at blinding speed and plowed right into the space where the man and Dean had been. The car swerved wildly, then gunned its engine and speed off.

Sam pulled up abruptly unable to see Dean or the man. “DEAN?!” Sam shouted. “DEAN!!”

Sam raced to the edge of the street to look around the corner to find both the man and Dean lying in the road. Sam skid over to Dean’s side, dropping down and ripping open one knee on his jeans. Dean was on his side, face half down, his arms flopped out in some mockery of a wave. Carefully Sam placed a hand on Dean’s neck. He nearly cried out in joy when he felt Dean’s pulse hammering hard in the vein there. Dean murmured with the touch, slowly rolling up a bit with a wince as Sam helped him sit up.

Other people were running up now, bystanders and witnesses. The long wail of sirens were now heard coming close.

Sam helped Dean wobble to his feet.

Dean had been grazed by the car, clipped his hip lightly but it was enough that Dean limped when he moved. Other than that and a few scrapes from hitting the pavement, Dean was unharmed.

The man he had been chasing was not as lucky.

The vehicle had hit him full on, and his body was crumpled into a weird twist of limbs. His head was seated strangely, facing at an odd angle, eyes staring up and away, sightless.

“Dammit….” Dean spat out as Sam helped him hobble over to the curb. The brothers sat down there and waited for the police and other emergency vehicles to arrive.

Eventually Dean was given the once over by the EMTs that arrived on the scene. He’d have a large ugly bruise on his hip for a while, and everyone was surprised the bone hadn’t cracked.

Once the police had taken his and Sam’s statements, they shuffled back to the Highdive.

Slaughter House Four took the stage late that night, Dean performing their sets while seated gingerly on a barstool. They gave a good performance in spite of everything, doing what they could to make it up to the audience for being on late. Once word of what had happened down the street had gone through the bar, the crowd had been more than exuberant and supportive towards the band.

By the end of the night, several people had stuck around to help them break their gear down, pack up and load the van.

If anyone noticed Dean and Castiel giving each other long, careful looks, no one brought it up or said anything out loud.

It had been a strange night.

 

**(to be continued)**


	21. Songs from the Wood: Reprise

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**Lawrence, KS. Singer Salvage. June 23 rd the following day…**

 

The afternoon had broken into fitful rainstorms, the kind of cloud fronts that move in low and fast while kicking up playful gusts of wind. These clouds had carried showers, some light and pattering, others thick walls of water dousing the ground. The storm front had pushed the weighty midwestern summer humidity away and left the air feeling freshly scrubbed. Now, close to sunset, the sky was slowly clearing, the thick clouds rolling away eastward onto the horizon.

Dean had spent the day shut away from the storms, holed up inside one of Bobby’s sheds lying on his back under some car. He had been keeping his mind off Cas and the band and the events of the previous night by losing himself in repairing the car’s oil leak and installing a new muffler.

When he was just about done and ready to wriggle out from under the car, he heard the side door open and saw Sam’s feet shuffle in.

“Dean?” Sam called, unable to see where he brother was.

“Under!” Dean called, then scooted himself out, standing up slowly and favoring his bruised hip.

“Hey, how’s that feeling?” Sam casually sauntered over.

“Sore. But I’m not limping. Bruise is pretty big though.” Dean chuckled and walked over to grab a rag to wipe his hands clean.

Sam nodded in acknowledgement. “So Garth finished fixing the roof of the shed we practice in and he and Kevin have hauled a cooler of beers up there to watch the storm leave….come hang out with us. I’ll help you old man gimp up the ladder.” Sam smirked, teasing.

Dean threw the oil rag at his brother and began to unzip the work jumpsuit he was wearing to protect his clothing from the grease. “Yea sure, sounds good.”

Sam caught the rag and chuckled, “When’s Benny coming back from Chicago?”

Dean peeled off the jumpsuit he had been wearing and shucked it across the back of an old metal chair at the back of the garage, “Wednesday…. I think. He was out of the motel this morning at the crack of dawn to get up there.” Dean chuckled. The band had crashed at a La Quinta in the north end of Champaign after the gig. Then Benny had headed to Chicago by train. “He said Christina would drive him back down. He said she wanted to go over stuff for the Battle of the Bands when they got down here.”

Sam nodded again and casually slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “You, uh, talk to Cas today?”

Dean was over at the sink basin now, scrubbing the grease and oil from his hands. He just gave Sam a withering look without saying anything, and went back to focus on getting under his nails clean.

“Yea. Okay. So…. Come over when you are done making yourself pretty there Princess.” Sam chuckled and wandered back out the door he had come in.

Dean finished scrubbing his hands and dried them on the semi clean towel hanging next to the sink on a nail. He shut off the lights in the garage and then left by the same door Sam had used. He locked it up and then began walking slowly through the salvage yard, back to the huge barn like shed the band used to rehearse in. It was good sized, about thirty feet wide and twenty-five feet deep. It was nearly two stories tall and the upper half was rimmed in small square windows. Big wood double doors were across it’s front, and there were side doors and back doors. Originally when it had been built, it was a dairy barn. Then in 1981, a tornado had come through and sheered the top off. Bobby had just slapped on a rough flat roof with a slight twenty-five degree angle to it and been done with it.

Over the last few weeks, Garth had taken it on himself to patch the roof, and reinforce it. And he wouldn’t let anyone but Benny up there to look or help. Not even Bobby. So Dean was a little curious to see what Garth had done.

He made it to the rehearsal barn, the barn’s doors wide open and Sam covering his keyboards with their dust covers. He walked up to the edge of the door and saw a long black cable leading up to the roof. He pointed to it, “Whats’ this for?”

Sam smiled and began closing the large doors, “Kevin rand a temporary power cable up so we can have a little more music.”

“What’s wrong with my little portable radio?” Dean huffed.

Sam lifted one brow and gave Dean a ‘are you serious?’ look as he brought the other door shut and pad locked them closed. “Get up the ladder old man.”

Dean moved around the corner to the ladder and scowled, “I am not old. Not even 30 yet dude….”

“Yea well, could have fooled me Mr. Cassette Tape Player.” Sam let off a light laugh as he followed Dean to the ladder. Once there he took hold of the bottom of it to brace it while Dean climbed.

“Don’t diss my cassettes Sam! There is awesome classic music on them and they’ve last longer than all three of your iPods….” Dean snarked. He reached the top of the ladder slowly, favoring his injury, and hauled himself up onto the roof. He winced when he grazed his bruised hip on the edge. He half rolled away from the ladder and got to his knees. Then he glanced to the ladder to watch Sam climb up.

Only Sam wasn’t climbing up. Sam pulled the ladder away from the roof and set it on its side down along the ground.

“What the hell are you doing Sasquatch?!” Dean frowned as he looked over the edge of the roof at his brother.

Sam looked up and a great big huge smile flourished across his face, “Dean, I lied.”

“What the hell Sam?! You lied?! About what?!” Dean gripped the edge of the roof with his hands.

“You’ll see.” Sam grinned, his dimples deep on his cheeks. “Call me when you’re done.” Then he turned and walked back towards Bobby and Ellen’s house.

Dean sputtered for a moment, not believing his brother had just walked off. Then he pushed away from the edge of the roof and sat. He looked up and took in the expanse of the roof around him.

Garth had done an amazing job. Not only was the roof fixed, but Garth had transformed it into something special. He had built a kind of rooftop deck platform towards the back of the barn, slightly raised on little blocks off its surface. On the deck was a small party tent, two sides of it’s canvas open. Lawn chairs were scattered around and a beach umbrella was propped up, sprouting out of the corner just across from the tent. Tiny Christmas lights were strung haphazardly over the tent and the top of the beach umbrella, their tiny glows glittering like little electric fireflies. In two corners of the deck, medium sized all weather speakers were seated and angled to provide possible music.

Dean stood and chuckled, the area would make a great place to hang out and chill after rehearsals and give the band a place to relax. Dean came closer to the deck and that was when he realized he wasn’t alone.

Castiel was sitting under the party tent at the end of a long flat tufted cushion.

He was cross-legged facing away from Dean, looking out across the eastern expanse beyond the salvage yard and watching the storm clouds as they retreated. In his hands were his bass guitar and on his head were headphones, their cord plugged into an amplifier beside him. He was curled around his bass as his fingers plunked and danced over the strings, his eyes far off and focused on the horizon.

Dean paused and just watched Cas practice. Castiel’s shoulders and his upper body would bob and snake a little, following some beat or cadence that Dean couldn’t hear. Dean watched the muscles of Castiel’s back work under the t-shirt he wore, and Dean bit into his lip lightly. He glanced around the deck area once more, and his eyes caught on his acoustic guitar. Silently he sent up a thanks knowing that Sam had planted it up here for him to find. Dean walked over, picked up the guitar and then went to sit beside Cas.

He mimicked Cas, folding his legs exactly as the other man, and just began to strum at his guitar. He had felt Cas pause when he had sat down, stopping his playing, but Dean didn’t look over. He focused on the guitar in his hands.

In his peripheral vision he saw Cas pull the headphones off his head and click his amp off. Dean just kept strumming, halting once or twice to tune the guitar a little. His stomach dropped when Cas set aside his bass and stood up. And he tried to keep his fingers steady when Cas wandered back over to the edge of the roof, looking for the ladder.

Dean swallowed nervously and forced himself to keep his eyes on his fingers. He could feel his heart staring to thump a bit firmer in his chest. He fiddled out a quick stanza of one of the new songs he and Sam had been working on, trying to keep himself from turning to find Castiel.

He didn’t have to wait long. A moment later Castiel was back, taking his seat again beside Dean. He didn’t take up his bass however, instead he stretched his legs out in front of himself and he leaned back on his hands.

“Your brother must think himself very clever.” Castiel sighed.

“Got you up here under false pretenses too huh?” Dean stilled the strings of his guitar lightly with one hand. He didn’t look over at Cas.

“I was told that I should practice up here tonight, take advantage of the newly installed deck.” Castiel let out a wry chuckle, “I was told I would be left alone.”

Dean nodded. He licked his lips once and in spite of the twist in his stomach he just dove right into what he felt he needed to say, “You were right Cas. About us…. we…. We came together really fast. And I know you don’t trust me now…..and….”

Dean was stopped short when the speakers in the corners of the deck crackled to life. It sounded like a mic being rubbed against fabric and then a woman’s muffled voice said, “Need a hand with that?”

Dean stilled as the entire conversation with the woman backstage at Knucklehead’s Saloon was played over the speakers. That heaviness in his gut sunk deeper and he gripped tight to his guitar. Everything he said to her was broadcast out. Then his and Castiel’s argument had also been caught and recorded by the mic he had been wearing for the show that night. Dean felt his cheeks heat up as that twist in his stomach went cold and hard. But then it kept playing after Castiel left to go onstage and Dean could clearly hear the woman’s parting comments quite clearly.

When the woman’s voice said “Lucifer sends his regards. Have a good show.” Castiel let out a loud “SON OF BITCH” that made Dean jump and look over.

The speakers went silent then, and both he and Cas could hear someone leaving the rehearsal barn below. Most likely Sam.

“Cas, I…” Dean started but Cas threw up one finger to silence him.

Castiel was fuming. He got up quickly and began to pace the length of the deck, muttering about Lucifer Garrison and how Castiel was going to wring his elder brother’s neck.

Carefully Dean set aside his guitar and stood up. He sheepishly tucked his hands into his jean pockets, not quite sure what to do. Finally he said, “Cas…. Lucifer may have sent that woman backstage to start trouble, but I had stirred the pot before she got there…”

Cas stopped and looked at Dean, his face flat and unreadable.

“You were right, and we may not know each other very well and things between us did happen fast but… I want to. I want to earn your trust back.” Dean looked at Castiel imploringly. “I missed you Cas, even though you’ve been right here… not in Chicago, right here. And I still missed you. How can that be if you don’t mean anything to me?”

Cas opened his mouth to speak but Dean hushed him gently, “Wait…..” Dean bent down and picked up his guitar. He cradled it to play it, but before he did he looked at Cas, taking a hesitant step closer. “When we met in St. Louis, when you played for Seraphim that night, you sang to me Cas….”

Castiel’s face softened, his eyes losing their irritated sheen.

“I think, I think that was the moment I started to fall for you Cas…. When you looked up at me from that stage, and sang just to me even though we were surrounded by hundreds of people…You sang for me, to me…. just me.” Dean placed his fingers on the strings and glanced down at the guitar briefly before bringing his green eyes up again to meet Castiel’s.

He took another step closer and his voice crooned out soft. “Let me bring you songs from the wood…..to make you feel much better than you could know….”

“Dean…” Castiel’s eyes went wide and his mouth parted open, caught by surprise at Dean’s singing.

“Dust you down from tip to toe…..” Dean let his eyes fall up and down Castiel’s form as he kept singing, “Show you how the garden grows….. Hold you steady as you go…..” Dean let a smile tug a little at his mouth, his fingers starting to bring the melody as well, “Join the chorus if you can…. it'll make of me an honest man…..”

Cas nodded and he joined in, harmonizing the baritone easily with Dean’s mid range for the song.

“Let me bring you love from the field….” Dean sunk down to one knee in front of Cas now, then the other, humbling himself at Castiel’s feet as he continued, “Poppies red and roses filled with summer rain….. To heal the wound and still the pain…..”

Castiel dropped down in front of Dean and stilled Dean’s hands on the guitar, stopping him. Dean silenced and flicked his now nervous eyes at the other man. Slowly Castiel raised his own eyes, warm and tender… and sad.

“I was too hard on you…. I had this ideal of who I thought you were based on your stage persona and I wasn’t looking past it.” Cas whispered, “We both messed up….”

“But Cas I…..” Dean tried to protest, to say he had been wrong with all his flirting. Castiel cut him off again, this time not with a held up finger but instead by reaching out to cup Dean’s face between Castiel’s hands.

Their eyes met and they simply looked at each other. Long, deep and complete. Dean let his guitar slip from his hands to rest beside him on the deck as Cas leaned in to press their foreheads together. In low sweet tones they offered their apologies, their regrets over the last few weeks, and their promises to each other to try harder to communicate better. Slowly their words devolved into barely met kisses, and those then grew to breathily sighed touches. Finally their hands came around to hold on to each other. They pulled themselves into each other’s arms and held close.

Off away in the distance, a gentle roll of thunder echoed out.

Cas turned his head to see that the storm had stalled on the horizon, not moving on east. Trickling threads of bright lightning danced through the storm clouds, and long curtains of rain blocked the setting sun. The two of them were now only illuminated by the tiny lights strung randomly around the deck area.

Dean nuzzled Castiel’s cheek with his nose, then side eyed the storm too. “We’ll be okay. It won’t backtrack….”

“It’s beautiful.” Cas sighed. Then he turned back to Dean, “Can I come home with you tonight Dean?”

“Cas….” Dean’s already rosy cheeks darkened with a deep flush. “Really?”

Castiel answered by closing his mouth over Dean’s, sealing them together in a deep kiss. His arms pulled Dean close, wrapping around Dean’s back as his hands clutched Dean’s shirt. That kiss bled into another, and another, until they had to come up for air.

“If you come home with me Cas… I’m not going to want you to ever leave.” Dean pressed his nose again to Cas’ cheek, his own hands firmly gripping Castiel’s waist and hip. “I’m serious. I want this to work between us. I want….” Dean took in a trembling breath, “I want you to stay.” His words came out so small as he pressed his face now into Cas’ shoulder, “Please stay Cas.”

A deep red pulse of a beat grew like a flower in Castiel’s chest, then unfolded and filled Cas with such a perfect sweetness he thought he might begin to tear up. He nodded, “It’s all I want Dean. It’s all I want.”

A small smile crooked up the corner of Dean’s mouth against Cas’ shoulder, and Cas could feel it through the fabric of his shirt.

“What?” A similar smile was hinting in Castiel’s own lips.

Dean squeezed Cas’ hip and in a throaty voice said, “Is that really all you want?”

The delightful heat that had pooled and bubbled up into Castiel’s chest from Dean’s previous words now riddled out, lacing down through his whole body like the lightening was doing through the clouds on the horizon. “D…Dean….” It came out an octave higher than Cas’ normal voice, and Cas’ hands pulled on Dean’s shirt tighter.

Dean lifted his head a little and nudged his mouth at Castiel’s neck as he spoke, “I haven’t touched another person for…uhm, sex…. since I met you. Haven’t wanted to, since I met you. You’re in my dreams Cas…… my hands ache to be on you sometimes more than on my guitar….”

They pulled away slightly to face each other, but their hands were still rooted against the other’s body. Dean’s green eyes were earthy and heated, and Castiel felt that heat zero in on his core and make his skin feel molten.

“I haven’t….” Cas paused, feeling his own cheeks now color up, “I’ve only been with Meg…. And when I started following you and Slaughter House Four, I couldn’t…. it just didn’t feel right with her. So I stopped. It’s why we broke up.”

The little grin that played over Dean’s face now was a mix of triumph and desire. “So you’ve never done it with a guy?”

“Not all the way. Not past making out and….” Cas looked away embarrassed.

“Copping a feel?” Dean smirked.

Castiel sighed and nodded. He began to worry at his bottom lip with his teeth.

Dean let a soft rumble of a moan out, “I’ll be your first….” And he closed the distance between them to catch Cas’ mouth in a kiss that echoed the heat in Dean’s eyes. Dean kissed that worried lip, then sucked it gently before slipping his tongue against it. Cas gave off a small shiver he melted into Dean’s arms.

Soon Dean was edging Castiel over to the long flat cushion they had been seated on, and Cas was doing his best to peel Dean’s shirt off. They tumbled down into the cushion, Dean’s arms entwined over his head in his shirt.

With a hungry look in his eyes, Cas descended on Dean’s exposed chest, exploring with his hands and then on hearing Dean’s small quick breaths, his mouth. By the time Dean was able to strip free of his shirt, Cas had latched on to his pectoral just above his nipple and was working on leaving a dark mark there. Dean leaned back and let Cas have his way.

Cas tasted and teased, watching and listening to Dean’s responses, as Dean began to squirm and wiggle under his touch. It wasn’t long before Dean was searching for Cas with his own hands and his mouth, to pull Cas down and torment Castiel in the same ways.

They licked and kissed and nipped, pulling clothing free and casting it aside. Each area of newly exposed skin was tasted, fondled, squeezed, and stroked. They pressed to each other, finally naked and free of any barriers between their bodies. One would swoon while the other would feast with their fingers and their tongue, and then the tables would be turned until they were moving together, dragging flesh against flesh over and over. Their mouths opened, gasping, drinking in the other’s sounds of pleasure.

They wound each other up, higher and higher. Hands gripping and pulling against stuttering quivering muscles. Flushed hot skin against taut swollen skin. They rubbed and rutted against each other until one of them crested on the wave of firing synapses and shook, crying out in the clipped sounds of their orgasm. Their bodies bowed together trembling as the other man followed quickly after, their hands still gripped tight to each other.

Dizzy, panting, slick and sweaty. They sank into each other’s embrace, all the tension quickly draining from them. Dean coiled his arms around Castiel as Cas pillowed his head on Dean’s chest.

“Cas…. Fuck. That was….amazing….” Dean let his eyes roll closed as a lopsided smile sat on his lips.

“It was much better than my masturbation fantasies.” Cas voice was low and gravely, yet frank and honest.

It made the smile on Dean’s face light up wide. “You jerked off thinking about me Cas?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions Dean.” The reply came as Cas nuzzled closer, his eyes shut with contentment.

Two of Dean’s fingers traced in lazy circles down Castiel’s shoulder, then to his back. “Don’t go to sleep….. we can’t stay up here all night.”

“No we can’t. No lube up here.” Cas remarked, but before Dean could do more than grin bigger, Cas carefully floated his hand over the large cloudy bruise on Dean’s hip. “Did I hurt you…. just now when we….”

Dean looked down at the discoloration on his skin. It was dark and mottled, mostly a dour shade of ash and purple. “I didn’t notice Cas. I was too busy getting mauled in all the good ways by my sexy boyfriend.”

Cas lifted his head then, looking at Dean with hooded dark eyes. “I supposed I’ll have to keep pulling intense orgasms from you to keep your mind off of it while it heals.”

Dean groaned as he felt his body tipping out of its post orgasmic haze and into its early stages of hot and horny. “I need to get you off this roof and back home into my bed as soon as possible Cas….”

Castiel merely gave Dean a sly half grin before he pulled away to reach for his clothes. “Then don’t waste anymore time. Call Sam for the ladder.”

Dean had never pulled his phone out of his jean pocket faster in his whole life.

 

**(to be continued)**


	22. Freebird

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**Chicago, IL. Gabriel Garrison’s brownstone. August 21st.**

 

The warm heady Chicago summer day faded into a balmy Midwest summer night, and with it came cooler breezes that helped to sweep away some of the humidity from the air.

Inside the brownstone however, this was not the case. Filled to nearly bursting with rock and roll band members and industry people, the interior was becoming a sweatbox. Members of the bands that were selected to compete in the final battle that weekend mingled in Gabriel’s kitchen, lounged in his living room, and dotted all doorways and stair cases. Moving among them were employees of Free Will Records and Gabriel’s nightclub, Valhalla. There were also people from the press, music magazines and music bloggers but the mood was social and not focused much on the contest.

Gabriel wanted it to be a fun relaxing party where everyone could enjoy themselves without the tensions from the contest flaring up and he had impressed that on each guest when he had greeted them personally.

He also had spared no expense. The party was catered by a local well known hot dog joint renowned for their amazing food, and he had stocked his place heavily with alcohol, beer and wine of all varieties.

He was in the kitchen now, showing off as he juggled two bottles of vodka. He was making several mixed drinks for Garth, Charlie Bradbury and two of the members of ‘The Sanctified’. He flipped one bottle high while spinning the other in the other hand, then caught the one in the air as he twisted around to pour out a jigger’s worth of alcohol into the glasses. Others began to gather around to watch and Gabriel’s grin shone brighter as his antics became flashier.

In the living room, the drummer from ‘Billy Bark and the Dawgs’ was sitting next to Benny and they were tapping out rhythms on the furniture with their sticks. Next to them the guitarist from ‘The Sanctified’ and Ruby from ‘Perdition’ were jamming with those rhythms and making up crazy riffs on their acoustic guitars as they all played off of each other. They grinned and laughed and built up a friendly vibe through the room as people wandered closer.

Sam skirted that group a little, and he and Ruby caught each other’s eye several times. The exchange was silent, with expressive glances only. It was apologetic and remorseful on Ruby’s side, accepting with the flicker of forgiveness on Sam’s. After a moment he wandered away to shoulder through the crowd into another part of Gabriel’s home.

Sam paused for a few moments in the kitchen to grab one of the bright orange cocktails Gabriel had whipped up. With his other hand he snatched a few squares of cheese from one of the snack trays before he slipped out of the kitchen.

He passed Christina talking with Lilith and Josie Sands, overhearing a casual discussion on the differences in musical styles between the sixties and the eighties. Then he made his way past Gabriel’s home office where the lead singer for Billy Bark and the Dawgs was talk with Kevin and several others about classic ‘Simpsons’ episodes.

Sam headed back down the hall and through the kitchen once more, then out of the back door an onto the landing there. He followed the wood stairs up and out onto the deck that climbed and spread over the back edge of Gabriel’s place.

There were few people up here at the moment, and most of them were sitting quietly talking one on one. Sam spied Dean sitting at the very edge, arms resting on the lower rail of the deck while his legs dangled over the side. Beside him, Castiel was positioned similarly, their elbows wedged against each other tightly. They weren’t talking, just silently enjoying the view of Chicago’s skyline from where they sat.

Sam smiled warmly at seeing them then turned and headed back down off the decks, and down the stairs. Instead of going back into the kitchen, Sam followed the stairs all the way down into the yard and garden that was at the back of the brownstone.

There were fewer people here, mainly couples paired off talking quietly as they either sat in the grass or leaned against a tree. Sam wandered deeper into the back part of the yard and found a small fountain amongst some rose bushes and an old metal bench that had been restored. The bench was empty so Sam sat down to finish his drink and let his legs stretch out. He leaned back and propped his shoulders against the wooden fence that surrounded the property and looked up at the sky above.

Unlike Kansas, the light pollution in Chicago dampened the view of the stars. But the city lights illuminated the clouds lingering in the sky overheard and it was a view Sam was not used to. He relaxed and enjoyed the colors he saw there.

“Enjoying the party tonight Sam?” came a voice, a man’s voice. And when Sam looked he discovered Lucifer Garrison standing next to one of the rose bushes.

“Yea, uh, I didn’t mean to intrude…” Sam made to stand up and leave but Luc waved his hand casually for Sam to relax and remain seated.

“You didn’t. I followed you back here.” Luc plucked one of the red roses from the bush and began to turn it over in his fingers, his focus on the flower as he spoke to Sam, “I wanted to discuss something with you. I have an offer to make.”

“An offer? What kind of offer?” Sam’s brows pinched skeptically.

Luc carefully tucked the rose into a buttonhole on the lapel of his jacket, then he lifted his head and smiled wide at Sam, “I’d like you to join Perdition. You have some exceptional skills on the keyboards and the synthesizers Sam. I would very much like to add you to our line up.”

“I don’t think…..” Sam began to stand up but Luc cut him off.

“Sam… You can’t possibly believe that Slaughter House is going to win the battle this Saturday, do you?” Luc made a face that was probably intended as consoling but instead it came off more condescending. “My little brother’s bass skill aside, your brother Dean’s guitar work is no match for Ruby’s. And Benny isn’t half the drummer Meg is. Perdition is going to take this contest, and the contract with Free Will Records and we’re going to conquer the world.”

Sam stood up, his shoulders tightening indignantly. “We’ll see about that….”

“Sam…. Sam….” Luc shook his head gently, “Wouldn’t you rather secure a future for yourself and for Dean? If you join Perdition your career is made. You’ll write your own ticket. You will have money to set Dean up, take care of him, give him the kind of home he deserves. We’ll even have Slaughter House open for us when we tour. Brothers opening for brothers…. Has a nice feel to it yes?”

Sam scowled, but held his tongue. Luc did have a point. What if Perdition won? They had a lot more experience in the business and they had done very very well at the audition show. They already had a solid fan following and were poised for a lot of further success.

“And just think, you could be with Ruby again. I know she misses you…..” Luc feigned a small pout.

“But I thought the two of you were…?” Sam’s brows bent down, eyeing Luc carefully.

“Tsk. I couldn’t let her leave could I? I had to turn on the old charm, woo her back. Keep her in the fold with Perdition where she belongs.” Luc leisurely brushed a bit of dust from his jacket before he looked back up at Sam once more, “C’mon Sam. Join us.”

Sam turned away from Luc and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. It was tempting. Fame, fortune, and being able to bring Dean into the rock and roll life. But then Sam thought about what he had said to Dean in St Louis, about how just being able to compete made them winners. And he thought about how hard he and Dean had worked to get as far as they had. Dean would never live with himself if Sam sold out now to the competition. Sam shook his head and then looked back at Luc.

“I’m sorry. I’m going to have to say no. I can’t run off and leave Slaughter House. I can’t just abandon Dean and Benny and Cas like that.” Sam’s words came earnestly.  
Slowly Lucifer’s demeanor shifted and where his posture had been relaxed before, now it was rigid. He straightened his jacket and a dour look came over his face. He nodded once and then made as if he would stride past Sam without another word. But when he was shoulder to shoulder with Sam, Luc stopped and he lanced Sam with a cold glare.

“You’re going to say yes to me Sam.” Luc leaned in, “It’s only a matter of time.”

Luc strode away quickly, with a purposeful gait and left Sam standing alone among the roses.

Slowly Sam sank back down to sit on the bench, trying to process Lucifer’s reaction. It was then that he realized he had dropped his drink, spilling it all over the stonework around the fountain and the bottom of the bench. Sam wondered when he had done that as he picked up the plastic cup. There was still a small swallow of the concoction at the bottom.

“Are you okay?”

Sam looked up to find Jessica Moore, Christina’s former assistant and now her replacement, standing a few feet from him, curiously peering down. Her eyes were soft and concerned.

Sam stood up gingerly and smiled shyly, “Oh yea I’m fine… not… y’know, drunk or anything. Just dropped my drink. Clumsy I guess.”

“No, I mean I saw Lucifer Garrison back here talking to you and when he left he seemed really irritated. He didn’t say anything nasty to you about the contest did he?” She took a step closer and looked up at Sam from under the big happy blonde curls on her head.

“Oh that. Nah, he’s just being his usual angelic and charming self.” Sam chuckled ruefully while his words held a sarcastic edge.

Carefully Jess poked a finger at Sam’s mostly empty cup, “Well he did save you from drinking one of Gabriel’s abominations. Those things have so much sugar in them they’ll give you type 2 Diabetes…..”

Sam broke out into a laugh and soon he and Jess were seated on the bench talking and smiling as she told him about working for Free Will Records and how Gabriel often threw parties where the company staff were invited.

High above them, Dean was watching curiously from his perch on the upper deck. He had seen Lucifer speak to Sam, and then storm off, but he hadn’t been able to hear any of what had been said. Now he grinned as he watched his brother talk to Jess knowing the huge crush Sam had on her.  
“That’s my boy.” Dean let out a warm little laugh.

“Hmmm?” Castiel leaned in closer to rest his chin on Dean’s upper arm.

Dean pointed down at Sam, who was now shifting and trying to get closer to Jess. Castiel canted his head a bit and nodded when he saw the pair.

“She’s a very nice person. Gabriel speaks very highly of her.” Castiel curled one arm around Dean’s back.

“So Gabe has a tight connection with Free Will Records huh?” Dean side-eyed Castiel, his nostrils flaring a little at seeing how close Cas’ lips were now, resting as he was on Dean’s arm.

“He’s told me he’s friends somehow with the owner of the record company… I know he hosts a lot of their release parties at his nightclub.” Castiel closed his eyes and relaxed into Dean.

Dean on the other hand perked up a little as the wheels in his head went to work. Gabriel Garrison was friends with Free Will Records mystery owner and C.E.O. “So Gabe knows who this person is huh?”

“Mmmm-hmm.” Cas hummed gently.

“Have you ever met him Cas?” Dean quirked one brow up.

“No I haven’t.” Castiel opened his eyes and sat back a little to look at Dean, his eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. “What are you up to Dean?”

Dean gave a light shrug and wouldn’t meet Castiel’s eyes. “I dunno. Nothing. Just… aren’t you at all curious about this person? They’ve built this amazing record company and have collected all these amazingly talented people together. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t want to meet them….”

Castiel looked at Dean thoughtfully a moment, “Honestly Dean, I suppose I just always wanted to respect their privacy.”

“Respect whose privacy?” Christina was smiling at the. She had wandered over to stand just behind the two men.

“The owner of Free Will Records.” Castiel offered and Dean gave him a small swift sideways half kick to Cas’ shin for letting that spill.

Christina just smiled and laughed. “Dean it’s okay. A lot of people want to know who he is…. Charlie Bradbury has been trying to unearth his identity for a few years now.”  
“So it is a ‘he’ then….” Dean eyed Christina carefully.

Her eyes went wide, “Good heavens Dean it’s certainly not me.”

In response Dean smirked. “Would you even admit it if you were?”

“Of course not.” She grinned. “Now listen, I came up to talk to you both. I have news on Castiel’s contract with ‘Seraphim’.”

Castiel quickly extracted himself from Dean and the edge of the deck to stand up fully. His formerly relaxed posture was gone as the apprehension and unease inside him became riddled all over his face. Dean stood too, and carefully took hold of one of Castiel’s now fidgeting hands.

“What’s happened?” Castiel swallowed, his blue eyes wide.

“You’re a share holder of Angeleus Records am I correct?” Christina raised one brow.

“I am. It was a move on Michael’s part to solidify the family holdings after Lucifer made a play to take over ownership.” Castiel’s free hand came to curl over Dean’s.

“Were you aware that as a share holder, you are supposed to be receiving ten percent of Angeleus Records and Seraphim’s profits?” Christina was trying to hold back the smile that was playing at the edges of her mouth.

“I….” Castiel started and then stopped. He blinked and tilted his head, “Ten percent? I’ve only ever been given two percent on Angeleus Records and just the usual band payments for Seraphim.”

“Exactly.” Christina let her smile loose now, “And when Free Will Records legal team pointed that out to the lawyers over at Angeleus….and to Michael Garrison…..”

“They let Cas out of his contract!” Dean jumped in.

“Oh not just that….” Christina chuckled as she pulled a check out of her pocket, “They also cut a hefty settlement check on the stipulation that Castiel not sue them for back profits and wages.” She held the check out to Castiel.

“If I sue for the money they owe me however, I’d be locked in a legal battle with my brothers for quite some time. Is that right?” Castiel didn’t take the check.

“Correct. And your contract would stand and not dissolve until the court proceedings were over.” Christina still held the check out, unmoving. “And you wouldn’t be able to play for Slaughter House in the competition because it would be a breach of contract with Seraphim. You’d loose any standing in the courts if you did and you’d disqualify Slaughter House entirely from the Battle of the Bands.”

Castiel turned away and leaned on the deck rail, looking down and away in thought. Dean remained still and silent a moment. Then he slid close to Castiel and gently traced his fingers over the back of Cas’ hand.

“If you want to fight them in court, get those fuckers for being such little shits to you, I’ll back you. Sam, Benny, Garth and Kevin…. We’ll al back you. The contest won’t matter Cas. We’ll drop out. So you do what you feel is best for you to do.” Dean took in a shaky breath, and his eyes were hot and determined.

Castiel turned his head and regarded Dean for a very long moment, “You would give that up for me Dean? This is your dream…. Your hopes for yours and Sam’s future…. And you would just set them aside for me?”

Dean looked down to where their hands were touching and he gave a little nod. “Yes Cas, I would. For you.” His eyes dashed up to met Castiel’s on those last words.

Castiel’s eyes flickered, the blue shifting brighter. And then he was suddenly on Dean, kissing him hard and deep, his hands framing Dean’s head. He held Dean like this for a long moment and when Castiel released Dean they were both breathless with their faces flushed.

Without breaking eye contact with Dean, Castiel extended his hand out to Christina, “I’ll be accepting that check if you please Christina. And I accept their terms.”

With shining eyes Christina slipped the check into Castiel’s out stretched hand. “Congratulations Castiel Garrison, you are now a free agent.”

 

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	23. Love Can Damage Your Health

 

 

 (The music Gabriel is DJing starts at 11:45min in)

 

**Chicago IL. Aug 24th – VAHALLA**

 

Gabriel’s sure and steady fingers slipped with just the right amount of pressure over the jog wheel on his right CDJ deck, carefully cue-ing up the beat on the CD inside it with the one that was already playing on the left deck. He paused the new track, one headphone earpiece cupped between his shoulder and his head. Then he reached up to the laptop he had jacked into the system, and began to do a quick search for a beat loop. Finding it, he patched that in to the main mixer, brining it to fit with both tracks and cued it up as well. He slid his headphones down and set them aside, his fingers then honing in on the individual line-in fader sliders. He brought the current track up a quarter of a notch in volume, then adjusted the high end knobs to bring one down a bit while the other he pulled up higher.

He reached up and with a fast tap to the laptop enter button to start the beat loop. Gradually he brought the beat loop in perfectly to overlay alongside the track playing. The beat loop bumped up part of the back bass as it came in, keeping the music solid as the current song went into the last of its measures.

Gabriel flicked his gold eyes up, surveying the dancing crowd as a small smirk teased at the corner of his mouth. Keeping his eyes on the crowd he felt for the right moment and tapped the play button for the track on the right deck. Again he reached for the gains knobs. He pumped the backbeat down and let that ride for a moment while keeping the high end of the new track coming in softer. Letting the vocal whisper and while the new tracks intro built slowly.

But right before the heavy bass came in, Gabriel dropped the mid range, allowing the hard down beat of the new track to take over. The vocal coasted in time with both tracks, and just before the meat of the new song slipped in Gabriel faded out the ending track on the left deck.

The dancers surged with a happy shout as the speakers rolled out the funky beat and Gabriel just chuckled.

“You’re taking it easy tonight.” Castiel smiled softly at his brother as he leaned against the wall perpendicular to the DJ table set up.

Gabriel’s smile deepened but he didn’t look at Cas. “This is the pre-party for the big event tomorrow night Lil’ Bro. Not supposed to be about DJ Trickster tonight.”

Castiel smiled more and shook his head. He had been in this very booth on nights past when Gabriel was really feeling the energy, throwing hard cuts and quick fast remixes out with lightning speed. Making the dancers scream and jump with every twist of his practiced wrist and every scratched out syncopated beat.

“No, it’s something else.” Castiel leaned in closer and caught the corner of Gabriel’s eye. “You never turn down a chance to show off to a packed house.” Castiel smiled kinder, “What is it?”

Gabriel’s eyes fell across the dance floor to the bar where the members of Perdition were leaning against its edge. Josie and Lilith were wrapped around each other, leaning to the other’s ear as they made note of the action on the dance floor. Meg was perched primly on a barstool as she sipped her drink, while next to her Lucifer rested his hand on her shoulder and simply looked smug. They all seemed to be just waiting for the throng to come and fawn over them more than anything else.

Castiel followed Gabriel’s gaze and let out a small chuckle of his own. “What? Meg and I are fine. Our break up worked out for the best.”

“That’s not…..” Gabriel let out a sigh as he brought his headphones up to cradle against his ear. He cued up another track and quickly matched its beat to the one playing before he continued, “It’s Luc okay? I mean, look at him. When’s the last time he’s looked so damn pleased with himself?”

Castiel’s smile soured at that. It was true. Luc Garrison only had that face when he was about to screw over his family somehow. “He probably just feels like they have the Battle of the Bands in the bag. That they can’t lose.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and went about bringing in the next track while blending out the previous one. He took a moment to watch Luc and that was when Luc faced the DJ booth, raised his glass to his two brothers and smiled one of the coldest smiles Cas and Gab had ever seen on the man.

Gabriel shivered. “He’s a big bag of dicks. How is it we share DNA with him?”

Castiel shook his head and turned away, leaning his butt against the edge of the DJ table, hand placed to either side. “He’s just playing mind games Gabriel. And this is your club, your home turf. He would never start anything here.”

“Damn right he wouldn’t.” Gabriel went about picking out the next dance track to play and muttered about paying his bouncers exactly for that reason. But he still wasn’t so sure Lucifer Garrison wouldn’t be deterred if he wanted to start trouble.

Castiel glanced back over his shoulder at the club itself. It was a massive building that on the outside looked like a castle. It was on the Chicago Historical register, but it had already been turned into a nightclub when Gabriel had gotten his hands on it. Gabriel had renovated it, turning it into one of the most high tech and luxurious clubs in the world. It boasted a massive dance floor, top of the line in sound systems, smaller satellite dancing areas, three full bars and plenty of seating. It had VIP areas and other adjacent rooms, some of which could be closed off and made more private while still having access to the excellent sound of the main room.

What made the club the talk of the town was the giant glittering disco ball that hovered over the center of the dance floor. It was twelve feet in diameter and the ceiling had to be reinforced when it was hung. Covering that ceiling was a blanket of LED screens that could be programmed to show images and colour. Currently overheard, blue skies and white fluffy clouds skittered and flitted across its surface bathing the entire room in a soft light blue haze.

Castiel also knew there were lasers hidden about that would shoot out to ring the disco ball in flashes of sparkling colour, and that part of the dance floor was thick tempered clear fiberglass shot through with fiber optics. He loved it when those came on, because the rest of the lights would drop dark, and all this glowing pulsing light would throb up from the floor and between the dancer’s feet and legs.

His attention was drawn to the specific people there now. Castiel could see Sam dancing with Jessica Moore, the young woman from Free Will Records. They were bouncing and laughing, holding fast to each other’s hands as they moved. Castiel smiled again and then a thought crossed his mind about something Dean had said the night before.

Castile turned his attention back to his Gabriel, who had relaxed a bit more and was now bouncing a bit himself as he played with mixing one dance song into another. Castiel waited until Gabriel was done, then he casually looked down to the tips of his shoes, “Say Gabriel….. you know the owner of Free Will Records right?”

Gabriel nodded, not looking at Castiel and flipping through his track list sheet, looking to see if he had played that Hot Chip remix last weekend or not. “Yep. I know them.”

“Which is why you are hosting the final battle contest this weekend….” Castiel continued, slyly looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you getting at Cas?” Gabriel leveled his gaze at Cas and didn’t blink.

Castiel drew in a deep breath and straightened up, facing Gabriel directly. He meant to come right out, ask whom the owner was, ask about Gabriel’s connection to the record label when he caught a flicker of something in Gabriel’s eye. He met his brother’s gaze for a moment, scrutinizing the other man. Cas narrowed his eyes and looked at Gabriel incredulously.

“It’s you.” Castiel held Gabriel’s eyes a moment longer before the older brother looked down and away quickly. “Gabriel Garrison…. I don’t believe it. You’re the owner of Free Will Records?!”

Gabriel tamped down a growing grin and gave a little shrug. “Maybe.”

“It all makes sense…. Why they worked so hard to get me out of my contract…” Castiel’s eyes went wider as he looked at Gabriel who was now not hiding his smile at all. “And why all the extra publicity for Slaughter House when I joined….”

Gabriel let his smile grow smug with pride as he blended in the next song, still not looking at Castiel.

Another thought flashed across Castiel’s mind and his eyes went really wide, “You…. did you create this whole contest just so I could meet Dean Winchester?!?”

“Pfft no….no….. would I do something that extravagant and crazy for my beloved brother… who was miserable in his life…. who needed a push to go out and get what he really wanted?” Gabriel played at frowning as he side-eyed Castiel.

“Gabriel!”

Gabriel turned then and gently set his hands on Castiel’s shoulders. “I did not create this contest to get you in bed with Dean Winchester. That was just a happy side effect…”

“Gabriel!”

He couldn’t help but laugh gently now, squeezing Castiel’s shoulders warmly, “Cas… Cas… Cas. Yes I am the owner of Free Will Records. Yes Christina and I and a few others at the label came up with the idea for the contest. Yes I may have made sure that someone the Winchesters knew made sure they knew about the contest. And yes, I may have played cupid and set up that little rendezvous with you and Dean on the roof of the hotel in St Louis….” Castiel blushed bright hearing that but Gabriel continued. “But what Christina did was all on her own. Getting you out of your contract was all her. I just paid the law team and signed the papers.”

Gabriel patted Castiel lightly on the arms, and with his face the picture of innocent delight he returned to his DJ gear and the music.

Castiel took a small step back. He was warm all over with a mix of happiness yes, but also a bit of shock at this reveal. He took another step back and let himself come up against one of the walls in the DJ booth. He swallowed down a gulp of air. His brother Gabriel not only owned this club, but he had master minded the most progressive, successful and talked about record label of this decade. His bright blue eyes came up to regard his older brother, now bouncing and pumping a fist in the air as he dropped the bass hard on the dance floor. The vocal singing out, “I hear you speak!”

Gabriel looked over, shot Castiel a bright mischievous grin and pressed one finger to his lips as he mouthed “Shhh.” Then Gabriel turned back to the dance floor and gave it his full attention.

Castiel blinked, nodded once and then pushed off the wall. He scrambled out of the DJ booth and into the small hallway just beyond. He had to find Dean. Castiel pushed through a door and came out from around one of the bars. He found himself on the edge of the dance floor, opposite from where Perdition was standing. Well, Josie, Lilith and Meg anyway. Luc was gone.

Castiel looked away, searching for Dean or any other members of Slaughter House Four. He spotted Sam and Jess, then saw Benny and Christina all standing just off the dance area talking together. Not far away Garth was chatting with two girls while Kevin stood frowning up at the massive disco ball. But Dean wasn’t with them.

Still scanning the crowd, Castiel made his way over to Sam, Benny, Jess and Christina. He paused at Sam’s shoulder, coming up just as the four broke into laughter over something Benny had just said.

“Oh hey Cas.” Sam beamed. He was smiling so big his dimples were etched deep into his cheeks. “Where’s Dean?”

“I was just coming over to ask you the same thing.” Castiel’s brow furrowed and he tore his eyes from the club to look hopefully at Sam.

“Uh, we thought he was with you brutha.” Benny smiled. “We haven’t seen him since we arrived and you both wandered off…..”

“I think the exact words you used were ‘private tour of Gabriel’s club’.” Sam chided, “And then you both vanished for more than an hour.”

Very matter of factly Castiel gestured to the club, “Well yes. I took him to the tech room so he could see the sound equipment and the lighting computers, and then we were in the DJ booth with Gabriel and he left to get something to drink….” Castiel sighed, “He never came back. I presumed he met up with you for social interaction.”

Sam chuckled a little, “No, haven’t seen him around. Did you take him into the VIP areas? Maybe he found a cushy seat and collapsed. You guys didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” Sam wiggled his brows.

Castiel looked affronted. “We sat up on Gabriel’s deck and talked…..” and he was about to continue affirming that he and Dean had been perfectly innocent against their growing giggles when Ruby was suddenly standing at Castiel’s elbow.

As Castiel turned in surprise it was Sam that spoke first, his voice wary. “Ruby… what…..”

Her dark eyes hit Sam with a pleading look and then she turned directly to Castiel, “Cas, you have to come with me. Now.”

Castiel frowned slightly. When he had been dating Meg, Ruby and Luc had been the only ones from Perdition who had interacted with him. While Ruby hadn’t been cold or rude to him, they hadn’t been close. “What’s this about?”

She glanced nervously around at Benny and Christina, then her gaze landed on Sam and Jess briefly. Her eyes darted back to Castiel. “It’s Luc. I didn’t…. I didn’t think he’d do it. But he did! You have to come with me….” She reached out to grasp hold on Castiel’s sleeve.

“Ruby what are you talking about? What did Luc do?” a deep frown began to grow over Castiel’s face as a strange dread crept up in his gut.

Ruby looked on the verge of panic now. “Luc…. He…. He took Dean!”

 

 

 

Dean was vaguely aware that he was half seated and half sprawled on a very expensive leather couch. The leather was soft and pliant, and in his current state he was enjoying how it felt as he let his fingers stroke it. He moved his head so he could rest his cheek against the back of the couch, and it made a sharp pain in his neck flare up briefly.

Oh yes, now he remembered. Someone had come up behind him as he came out of the men’s room at Gabriel’s club, put one arm around his shoulders and yanked him backwards. As he tried to shove them off, he had felt a quick sting to his neck.

The next thing Dean remembered was stumbling with Lucifer Garrison out to the curb outside the club, and with Lucifer’s assistance, into a long white limo. Dean remembered slumping into a seat and he remembered Lucifer offering him a drink. The next thing he could recall he was exiting the limo and vomiting in the gutter along the sidewalk he was on. Then they were in a big fancy lobby, and then they were in an equally fancy elevator.

And now he was here. On this couch.

Dean felt a sweet breeze waft over his face and he rolled his head to face it.

Lucifer was standing on a balcony just beyond the living room area where the couch and other expensive furniture was placed. The huge picture window along that wall was half sliding glass door, and now it was open allowing an early evening breeze to coast in and touch Dean. Lucifer leaned on the rail and looked over his shoulder at Dean with a casual smile. Behind Lucifer, the sky was a dark swath of hazy air hovering over the skyline of Chicago.

“You might feel better if you come out here for a bit Dean. Clear your head, hmm?” Lucifer stretched his hand out to Dean, beckoning him out.

“I dunno man, my legs feel like they are full of wet sand….” Dean half sat up and rested lead heavy arms on his knees. “Feels like…. did someone drug me?”

Lucifer merely smiled and beckoned again, “C’mon Dean. Come out here and get some fresh air.”

Dean pushed his body to the edge of the couch and took a moment. He felt warmer than normal, and his limbs felt weighed down as if gravity was working twice as hard to draw him down to the floor. His head was muddled and yet, light. He rolled up to his feet and swayed a moment before gaining his balance. Then he slowly began to walk towards the open glass door.

“This is Crowley’s high rise apartment. Perdition and I are staying here for the weekend. Nice of him to put us up like this don’t you think?” Lucifer said amiably.

“It’s small.” Said a bored sounding male voice from behind Dean, “Really Luc, when this is all over we have got to get you something over on Michigan Avenue.”

Dean wobbled on his feet a little as he turned half around to see Michael Garrison fixing the cuffs on his shirt. He was rolling them down his arms and replacing the cufflinks. As he did so, he walked over to Dean with a smile. “Hello Dean.”

“Wh…wha.. are you doin’ here?” Dean felt another wave of nausea creeping up on him.

“Overseeing my investment.” Michael smiled wider and placed his arm around Dean’s shoulder. He began to gently coax Dean towards the open door to the balcony.

“Investment?” Dean frowned, “I thought you guys were hatin’ each other….?”

“Dean, how can I hate a brother I have a common cause with?” Michael’s smile did not fade and his other hand came around to grip tightly to Dean’s bicep.

“Cause?” Dean quirked a brow. They were at the door now and Michael had paused there as Lucifer chuckled.

“So cute. Really Michael, I can see what Castiel sees in him. I bet the sex is amazing.” Lucifer grinned.

“Hey... hey now! Wa’s tween Cas an me ‘s tween Cas an’ me…” Dean scowled at Lucifer. “….’s none o’your b’nez.”

“Really?” Lucifer gave Dean an odd look, “I think it is very much my business when someone comes along and lures my sweet little brother away from his family and his rightful place with them.”

Lucifer paused and swept one hand out over the rail. “So much so I felt I needed to take action.”

Dean’s eyes flicked from Lucifer on the balcony at the rail, to Michael’s grip on his arm, to the view beyond the balcony. Half of Chicago stretched out away from the building and Dean guessed they were at least twenty stories up from the street. High enough that a fall from the balcony would be fatal.

Lucifer continued, “Michael and I feel that it would be in everyone’s best interests if you were to….. step out of the picture. Retire from the spotlight.” His eyes went tight around their corners as he returned to look directly at Dean, “Fling yourself into obscurity.”

“You’re kidding…” Dean felt a jolt of panic spike in his gut, while his legs began to feel more like melting jello.

“Not at all.” Michael offered, “It’s quite simple. You die.” He tightened his grip when Dean tried to jerk away in response. “Then, distraught by the awful tragedy, my brother Castiel will come back to his home and his family and his place in Seraphim.”

“G….Gabriel will fight you on that….” Dean spit out.

“Gabriel is going to be too busy dealing with the DEA and an full investigation of the drug use in his night club…. Drugs that were found in Valhalla’s men’s room after Dean Winchester overdosed and fell to his death. What scandal!” Lucifer’s grin deepened and at the same time went colder, “Meanwhile, Sam, devastated by his brother’s death, is going to find himself back in dear Ruby’s arms and she’ll bring him right to me…. and right into Perdition where he belongs… which will be owned and run by me, along with Crowley’s business holdings after you take a dive off his balcony.”

Dean blinked, “So you end my life, ruin Castiel’s life, Gabriel’s life and my brother Sam’s…. and you ruin Crowley as well….”

Michael leaned in and mouthed against Dean’s ear harshly, “Yes. And then Luc and I will unite the record companies and bring all our family home. As. It. Was. Meant. To. Be.”

Michael hefted Dean in his grip and Lucifer came around to take hold of Dean’s other side. Together they lifted Dean and began hauling him over to the edge of the balcony rail. Dean’s legs half held his weight as he tried to dig his heels in and stop himself from being dragged forward.

The balcony was rimmed by a waist high cement wall titled in marble and on it’s edge running around it’s rim was a steel pole rail that angled out just slightly. If one was adventurous, one could lean on it with your elbows and peer over the edge of the balcony and not fall.

Dean knew without a doubt that if he were shoved over the lip of that steel rail he would fall easily and plummet to the sidewalk and street so far below. He knew with his body drugged he wouldn’t be fast enough to catch hold of that rail and hold on to save himself. With his legs like dead meat and his arms feeling like they were noodles, Dean did the only thing he could. He let his whole body become a dead weight, letting his legs go out from underneath himself and sinking all two hundred some pounds of solid muscle to the floor of the balcony. He did it so abruptly that Lucifer and Michael’s hold on him slipped and they had to stop their progress heading to the edge.

Lucifer grit his teeth and nodded down Dean’s body, “Get your arm under his leg and we’ll…..”

“Let go of him!”

Castiel’s voice rang out low and furious from the living room area.

Dean tried to turn his head to see, and couldn’t. But looking at Lucifer and Michael’s expressions told Dean that Castiel was probably not alone.

“Let go of him or so help me God….” Castiel’s voice came tight, seething. Dean imagined Castiel was saying it through clenched teeth. Cas sounded as if he wanted to smite both his brothers.

Slowly Lucifer and Michael’s hands released Dean and he floundered to the ground as they backed away.

Instantly Dean felt more hands on him as Sam and Castiel came out onto the balcony to scoop Dean up in a tandem hold. They brought Dean inside quickly and set him back on the couch, almost exactly in the spot he had started in.

Sam and Cas weren’t alone. Benny, Christina, Jess, and Ruby were all there. As Dean made eye contact with them, he saw Jess lowering her smart phone, pressing the save button on the video she had been recording.

Lucifer stepped into the room with a cheeky smile, his hands spread wide. “Look it’s not what it seems like. Just a prank…. A joke.”

Without a sound Ruby crossed the distance between herself and Lucifer. She reached up and slapped him hard across his face. Her eyes were hotter than fire and when she spoke she didn’t hide her venom, “You fucker. Did you really think I was just going to cave in, crawl into your bed and stay with the band?! Did you really think I was going to give up my life and my dreams for your malformed putrid ego?!”

“But Ruby, I thought….” Lucifer looked at her with big fake sad eyes as he rubbed his hand against his chin.

She narrowed her eyes and stepped in closer to Lucifer, “You thought I was going to help you ruin Sam’s life but twisting him away from Dean? You thought I was going to play your little game and let you get away with this?!?” She sneered, “Had you going didn’t I? You thought I was on board with Team Lucifer. Well you thought wrong. Had you fooled didn’t I?!”

Ruby turned slowly. She looked at Christina and Benny, pointing to one of the other rooms in the lavish apartment. “On the desk in that room you’ll find a laptop. It’s locked and encrypted, but I know how to get inside it to the information there. It will have proof that Lucifer and Michael planned on drugging Dean. It will also have proof that Lucifer set up Rufus Turner’s shooting. You’ll find other goodies on there too…..”

When Sam saw that Ruby’s hands were shaking, he came to her side and took hold of one of them. She looked up into his eyes with a sad smile, “I got suspicious after Rufus’ bass was stolen and I couldn’t just sit back and not do anything.”

“Thank you….” Sam said it gently and then he gave her a small chaste kiss on her forehead.

“Well la-de-da.” Lucifer shrugged and then stuck his tongue out at both Ruby and Sam, “Now what?”

Benny was pulling his phone out and dialing 911 as Christina stepped around and left the room to retrieve the laptop.

“Now we call the cops you lil’ shit.” Benny smirked.

Sam leveled his stare at Lucifer, “You and Michael are going to both be locked up for a very long time.”

 

 

 

At 3am Gabriel was standing in his kitchen, hip pressed against the counter, glass of water in his hand. His other hand rested on the counter next to his cell phone, and that was where his attention was anchored. He swirled the water around in the glass a few times and idly took a sip, but his eyes didn’t stray from his phone long.

He had finished out his set at Vahalla and went looking for Castiel. When he couldn’t find Lucifer, Castiel or any of the Slaughter House Four members he began to worry. When he couldn’t find his right hand, Christina, he really began to panic. He had cornered the remaining members of Perdition to learn that everyone had run out of the club with Ruby, and they had no idea what was going on.

Gabriel had half believed them.

He had then spend the next few hours stalking through his club sending text message after text message to every single person he knew.

Irritated, his poked at his phone with his finger. “Ring damn you….” He glared at it a little harder and clenched his jaw. “I own a million dollar night club and a billion dollar record company and right now I would trade it all for one fucking phon…”

His phone buzzed.

Gabriel snatched it up and hit accept so fast the phone almost flew out of his grip and onto the floor. “Cas?!”

“No baby, it’s Kali. Any word?” Her warm voice came soothing over the line, but it was laced with obvious well-placed concern.

Gabriel let out a sigh and set the water glass down, “No. Not yet.” He paused, his stomach tensing up, “K, what if…… what if Lucifer pulls on Cas what he tried to pull on me in Tokyo?”

Kali didn’t answer for a moment. Lucifer had hired several motorcycle riding thugs to try to run Gabriel down in Shinjuku one night and the only thing that had saved him, it turned out, were two of the local gangs were huge fans of Gabriel and had been stalking him for autographs. They had intervened and kept Gabriel safe. “You should have brought Lucifer to India. Introduced him to my ‘brothers’…. We could have avoided all this mess.”

Her words weren’t accusing, but they carried a ring of truth to it. Gabriel ran his free hand through his hair, “While Luc seems to have no trouble stabbing his family murderously in the back, you know that’s not my style.”

“No but you find other, clever ways to dole out justice. Don’t you my love?” Her smile was evident in her voice now. “Starting your own record company and making it one of the most successful in the world was a brilliant piece of revenge.”

“Ah stahp… now you’re just trying to get into my pants….” Gabriel allowed a small smile as he heard Kali make a soft sound of agreement on the other end of the line.

“Please…. Stop worrying Gabriel. Castiel is just as smart and formidable as you are. And from what I have seen of the Winchester brothers, they just as much of a pain in the ass. I think Lucifer has bitten off more than he can handle this time.” Kali purred, “I’ll let you of the phone…. Do you want me to come over?”

“Yes.” Gabriel didn’t hesitate.

“I’ll be there soon my love.” Kali ended the call.

Gabriel brought the phone down into view and sent his fifteenth text to Christina, then his twenty-first text to Castiel. He was about to shove his phone away when a text buzzed in.

“Thank the gods!” Gabriel opened the text.

Christina: Boss Man, all hell broke loose. At the police station now. Lucifer and MICHAEL arrested. Attempted murder for starts.

Gabriel: WTF?! Where is Cas?!

Christina: Hospital – Dean was drugged. Cas is healthy but freaked (duh).

Gabriel: Which hospital?!

Gabriel was halfway to his front door, snatching up his keys when he thought Christina’s reply came back. Instead it was finally a text from Castiel.

Castiel: Gabe…. Are you home?

Growling, Gabriel smashed out “YES” and hit send.

Castiel: Good. We’re nearly there. Our taxi is five minutes away.

Gabriel: TAXI??? WHAT ABOUT HOSPITAL

Castiel: Dean was released. Ketamine dosage by Lucifer should wear off in a few hours. Dean just needs rest they said.

Gabriel reread the text. “Ketamine…. What the fuc…..” His phone buzzed again with a text from Christina.

Christina: I don’t know what hospital they were taken to. The officer here isn’t sure.

Gabriel: They were released. Heading back here now. How much longer will you be there with the cops?”

Christina: Not sure. I sent you a detailed itemized email outlining the events and the impending police investigation.

Gabriel took a moment and felt a little relief seep into his bones. Cas and Dean were fine, and Christina—gods bless her—was handling things with the police. He flipped open his email on his phone and saw the one she had just sent sitting in his inbox. He flipped back to his texts.

Gabriel: Angel, you are wonderful. Love you like WHOA. I do not pay you enough.

He paused and then sent: How about I make you the secondary prime shareholder of the company with me?

There was no reply for a long moment and then her text came back.

Christina: Will I still get to call you Boss Man?

Gabriel: No. But you can call me Partner and I reserve the right to still call you Angel.

Christina: Deal. Looks like Team Free Will wins the day after all! =)

 

 

**(to be continued)**


	24. The Final Battle of the Bands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Links to music at the end of the chapter

****

****

****

 

 

 

**Chicago IL. Aug 25th – Valhalla**

 

Dean’s sat in the corner of the basement room alone. Cradled in his arms was the Impala guitar, its strap slung over one shoulder as he perched on the edge of a table. Carefully he tuned her, listening closely as he plucked the strings and adjusted accordingly. His entire focus was the guitar, her sounds, the feel of her in his hands and nothing else.

He didn’t move from that spot for a good forty some minutes, just carefully bringing the guitar into tune. One foot was propped up on his small portable amplifier, and the chords he was running over echoed off the unadorned cement walls.

When he did finally look up, he found Castiel standing in the open door leaning against its frame. Castiel’s body was relaxed, his arms folded loosely over his chest, weight resting on one leg while the other sagged slightly. Cas’s face was open, but empty. The only tell on his face as to his mood was the warmth of his eyes.

Neither moved or said anything for a while, just letting their eyes speak for them, between them. Relief, gratitude, comfort. Then nervousness on Dean’s part, as it came wiggling up into his face beyond his eyes.

“You should get dressed. We’re on stage in less than an hour.” Castiel spoke softly. He was already dressed; black leather pants hugging his hipbones, black t-shirt with rough splattered wing design painted on the back, his usual black boots.

“Yea…. Yea.” Dean nodded distractedly. His mind obviously edging some place else.

“You feeling okay? It was barely twenty-four hours ago that you had a sizable dose of animal tranquilizers running in your blood.” Castiel did not move, but one brow lifted ever so slightly.

Dean shook his head and slid off the table. He unplugged the guitar and flicked off the power on the amp. The room they were in was in the basement of Vahalla, one of the storage areas for extra tables and chairs. He placed his guitar gently on the table he had been sitting at and turned to Castiel.

“I’m fine. I feel okay. I mean, I slept for nine hours or more right?” Dean gestured down to his body, “I don’t feel muddled or anything.”

“So what’s wrong?” Castiel stayed where he was, but let his hands slip down. He hooked his thumbs on his belt loops and left them there.

Dean let out a small chuckle, a smile tugging at his lips. “It’s just…” a sound escaped Dean’s lips then, half nervous chuckle, half push of huff of breath. “Cas… man. After everything we’ve been through…..” Dean stepped closer, coming to a stop in front of Castiel, “The Auditions, Rufus getting his bass lifted and then him getting shot… the thing with your contract, that guy getting killed in front of Sam an’ me….”

Dean brought one hand up to wipe over his face. And then he looked deep into Castiel’s eyes, “The stuff between us…. and then Lucifer…” Dean let his hands hang helplessly at his sides as his eyes went damp, “We’ve been through so much.”

“Too much?” Castiel’s brows knit up into a frown.

“Maybe?” Dean bit his lip and looked away, fighting to hold the tears creeping at the edges of his eyes.

Castiel sighed and nodded. Then he looked down at their feet, boots touching, one pair of knees bumping against the other. “What do you want Dean?”

Dean took in a deep full breath and held very still afterwards. “I want….” His fingers flexed, and then he was moving. Crowding in against Castiel, shoving his fingers into Castiel’s hair. Forehead to forehead with Dean’s eyes closed. “I want you Cas. I want you in my life and I want us to write music with Sam…. And I want to tour with you and make records with you and grow old with you and live with you and hold you and….” Dean drew in a breath.

“….and never let you go….” Castiel finished for him. For them both.

“Yes. Hell yes….” Dean shifted, pressing their bodies flush together. “And I want to win this goddamn battle of the bands.”

A brilliant smile flew across Castiel’s face as his hands came around to Dean’s back, hooking his fingers into the fabric of Dean’s shirt there. “I want that too. All of it.”

No second was wasted after that as their lips found each other, kisses alternating between sweet and innocent to rough, devouring and lewd. Quickly their bodies heated up, and the liquid fit of Castiel’s leather didn’t hide the growing hardness in his pants.

One of Dean’s hands went to drag hot and firm against Cas as panted out, “We got time….?”

Castiel groaned and pulled back, sucking a bit still on Dean’s lip as he did. “No… you have to change…. Need to set up the gear….” His words were just as breathy as Dean’s.

“I’ll just have to go out on stage hard and you’ll have to finish me off after…” Castiel gave out a low wicked chuckle and untangled himself entirely from Dean. He stepped back down the hallway a little, leading out of the room they were in.

“Fuck Cas…” Dean nearly whined, gripping the doorframe now instead of Castiel.

“Get your guitar Dean…. Fame awaits.” Castiel turned away then and stalked down the hall to the stairs up to the backstage area.

 

 

The crowd at Valhalla for the final Battle of the Bands was huge, vibrant and exuberant. The club was filled and the line of people outside were still waiting around and down the block to get in.

A massive stage had been built over half of the dance floor, which placed the giant disco ball like a glittering crowning jewel at its front and center.

Gabriel was in the DJ booth at the moment as Perdition’s gear was cleared from the stage. He had allowed them to continue on as part of the contest without Lucifer when Ruby had provided proof that Josie and the other band members were not part of Lucifer’s plans or schemes. They had played their set with less energy and verve than they had shown at the St. Louis but they had still made a good showing and the crowd had enjoyed them.

Gabriel patted one of his resident DJs on the back as they began playing music to fill the time during the band turn-overs. Then he buttoned up his tuxedo and exited the DJ booth. He slipped up a side spiral stairway that brought him up into the VIP area where the judges were seated and holding prize views of the stage area.

Gabriel shook hands with most of them, smiling sharp. They were all part of Free Will Records and he considered them friends as well as musical contemporaries. He hugged one or two in greeting, and when he stood beside Kali, he planted a debonair kiss to her hand coupled with a saucy wink. Before he left them he shot a brilliant smile at Christina and Jess, both playing host to the VIP area leaving Gabriel free to roam. He breezed through the other VIP areas, greeting a famous actress and her rapper boyfriend, then a famous electronics entrepreneur and after that a lesser-known duchess from a smaller European nation.

Then Gabriel made his rounds, checking on the bar staff, the wait staff, the bouncers and security staff. When his eye caught Garth and Kevin hauling Slaughter House Four’s gear up on to the stage, Gabriel made his way quickly to the lighting and special effects booth.

He pulled out his cell phone and texted Castiel, asking if everything was good to go. A moment later Castiel texted back an affirmative.

Gabriel grinned wider than he had all night. He leaned over to the technicians controlling the lights and the lasers for the event and gave them some quick directions. They nodded and smiled, and then Gabriel slid out to wind his way into the crowd.

He wanted to be in the thick of it when Slaughter House Four took the stage. Already tonight Perdition had played, the Sanctified and two other bands. Gabriel could feel the excitement and tension twisting up inside his gut. For a moment he considered going backstage and checking on Castiel.

But then Kevin was giving the thumbs up to the sound guys and the lights were dipping low. The music the DJ was playing in the booth was fading down and Gabriel began to be pulled with the crowd as they crested like a human wave towards the stage.

Around him Gabriel heard talk and chatter. Comments about Sam’s incredible playing skills, about Benny’s sexy voice, about Dean’s fantastic guitar work and Castiel’s flawless bass lines. He also heard a lot of things being said about the sexual hotness of the whole band, Dean and Cas in particular.

But all of it died down when the DJ music dropped out and instead it was replaced by a fast rhythmic melody from Sam’s keyboards accented with sharp hits to a snare drum by Benny. A high smooth guitar note sailed in as the glow from the dance floor lights swelled brighter.

And then the guitar strummed out a hard growl and Dean was suddenly at his microphone, his voice bounding out the lyrics to the song. The full stage lights flared up, Slaughter House Five took full command of the stage and they came out swinging.

Dean was belting out the lyrics as his fingers flew over his guitar strings. Sam, just to Dean’s right, leaned on one leg as his fingers danced just as fast over his keys.

“I see the problem start  
I watch the tension grow  
I see you keeping it to yourself

And then instead of reaching conclusions  
I see you reaching for something else

No one can stop you now  
Tonight you're on the loose!....”

Castiel hung back, swaying beside Sam, his eyes on Sam’s fingers as they rioted over the keyboards while Dean took front and center stage. He made and held eye contact over and over with the crowd until music reached the rhythmic break down on the song.

The fast melody came back from Dean on the guitar and then Sam echoed it with equal speed and accuracy. It then launched Dean into a brief solo that Sam then came in on and backed up. As the brothers came in sync in the solo, mirroring the melody with precision, the crowd screamed and threw up their hands.

Suddenly the band was dropping hard into another cadence, roaring into their original song “Salt and Burn” and ripping up the air on the stage as they played it.

From there Slaughter House Four went into their original music, one after another, building the tempo and the energy higher and higher, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

They pulled out of the song “Devil’s Trap” as Dean strut up once again to the front. He planted his feet firm in the center of the stage, his mouth curled into a playful smirk as his fingers ground out the opening notes to Queen’s ‘Hammer to Fall’.

Benny came in easy behind him on the drums and then he and Sam backed Dean on the vocals.

“You don't waste no time at all  
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call  
It comes to you as to us all  
We're just waiting  
For the hammer to fall…”

Slowly Castiel came wandering around Sam’s keyboards, then behind Benny, then up slowly to stand alongside Dean. Dean leaned sideways towards Cas and called out to the crowd as he sang.

“Rich or poor or famous for….  
Your truth it's all the same. (No no, no no!)  
Lock your door but rain is pouring  
Through your window pane! (No no!)  
Baby now your struggle's all vain!!”

Dean pushed away from his mic and broke into the guitar solo, rolling around so the back of his shoulders pressed against the back of Castiel’s, their poses echoing the other man’s until Dean rolled back to the mic again, yet still leaving his shoulder against Castiel’s back.

“For we who grew up tall and proud  
In the shadow of the Mushroom Cloud  
Convinced our voices can't be heard  
We just wanna scream it louder and louder…..”

The crowd was singing back now, Dean encouraging them to join in.

“What the hell are we fighting for?!?  
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all….  
You just got time to say your prayers  
While you're waiting for the Hammer to Fall….”

When the song ended, the stage went dark for a moment, and then the lights came back up with Benny at the mic now. Sam did the lead in to “Fangs and Kisses”, another Slaughter House Four original. Benny cupped the mic in his hands tenderly and crooned out the vocals as Castiel brought in a sultry bass line.

Gabriel looked around to find many of the crowd members either singing along with Benny, or mouthing the lyrics. Many with their eyes closed as they let the music wash through them.

“Now you’re helpless little dark Angel  
From the beast inside of me…..  
From the beast…inside a’ me….”

From that song Benny went into another piece he had written. It was a sexy low tune with a hip wiggling beat. This one he sang entirely in Creole and Gabriel watched as many of the women and men in the audience visibly swooned.

As Benny wound out of that song, Sam hovered the last notes letting Benny step away from the mic. Castiel pulled his hands off his bass and took Benny’s place, dragging his fingers through his already shocked looking hair.

Dean stepped forward now, strumming out on his guitar as Sam went silent, giving Benny a moment to get back to his drum kit. In perfect time, Benny swung his body down on his seat, snatched up his sticks and came hard in alongside Dean.

Cas slung his bass around to his back and he leaned in to let his lips brush against the center microphone. His eyes slid over to track Dean as the guitarist came to lean once again at Cas’ side.

“Hey you  
You're a wild honey child  
I'm out of control  
Every time you are near me  
I'm a wolf child, baby  
And I'm howlin' for you  
My heart beats faster, hrrrr  
Hey hey, and it's overpowered…..”

Dean began to rub his backside against Castiel’s hip as Sam joined in on the tambourine, taking over the bass on his keyboards with the other hand. Castiel curled the mic into his fingers and removed it from its stand, pouring all his attention and his vocals over Dean. Dean reciprocated by turning his body into Castiel’s.

“Yeah you  
Sweet sensation of a nation  
Oh, my soul  
You're a perfect creation  
You're an angel, baby  
And I'm cryin' for you  
My heart beats faster, hrrrr  
Yea hey, and I'm overpowered…”

The two of them began to grind and slide against each other, side to side, then back to back. When Dean roared into his guitar solo, Castiel was on his knees with one hand gripping Dean’s thigh as they still moved together. Castiel was openly panting when Dean came out of the solo.

By the end of the song, Castiel was standing and hanging off Dean, the two of them beginning to writhe slightly until Cas broke away to sling his bass back around to the front. Dean bounced up to the front edge of the stage and began to pluck out the opening guitar notes on Van Halen’s ‘Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love’. He planted one foot up on one of the stage monitors as Castiel brought in the bass and Benny banged out his part on the drums.

When it came to the vocal, it was Sam’s turn. He moved out from behind his keyboard array and took a spot at Dean’s side so they could share the mic on the harmony.

With Castiel on Dean’s other side, the three of them came together to the front edge of the stage, leaning out to the crowd. The crowd jumped and bounced and reached out, and Sam reached back. The music pumped up and the crowd surged on Dean’s solos, hands coming up to tug on Dean’s pants, Sam’s leg, Castiel’s boots.

On each “HEY! HEY! HEY!” the crowd exploded up and shouted it back, faces glowing along with Dean, Sam and Cas.

At then end they drummed it up with hard punches of sound, Sam’s fist high in the air with each hit. When the last note came, it came with the whole club shouting and then the stage plunged into darkness as the band’s instruments went silent.

After a half beat the lights came up. Cas, Dean, Sam and Benny were at the edge of the stage now, grinning bright and happy. The crowd exploded in cheers and shouts and screams of delight as the band took their bow before heading off stage.

Gabriel pushed and prodded his way to the side, then maneuvered to the stage edge. The crowd was still shouting, calling for Slaughter House to come back and play more, even as the filler music from the DJ kicked in and Garth bounced on stage to begin packing up the band’s gear.

Gabriel squeezed past a knot of people packed near the stage door, and rolled his eyes at the security guard as he went backstage.

Beyond the door Billy Bark and the Dawgs were waiting to take the stage, and he took a moment to greet the girls and wish them well.

From there he went directly past the other rooms where the other bands were waiting and made directly for the room Castiel and the others would be in. He didn’t even bother to knock, just grabbed the doorknob and thrust it open, charging into the room without hesitation.

“That was magnificent!!!” Gabriel burst out.

He was greeted with big smiles as the four men paused. Benny had changed his shirt and was pouring himself some water. Sam had peeled off his shirt and was wiping off the sweat with a towel. Dean was about to do the same but halted when Gabriel had entered. But Castiel came to his brother quickly, reaching out to crush Gabriel in a sweaty hug.

Gabriel didn’t care.

“When… uh, will we know the judges decisions?” Dean licked his lips as he watched Gabriel and Cas part, Gabriel giving Castiel an affection pat to the cheek.

“Monday. At the press conference.” Gabriel smiled. “But you know that. Christina has been over that with you.”

“Yea yea just…..” Dean chuckled, the adrenaline from their set still singing in his veins. His cheeks were still flush and his lips dark.

“Just confirming.” Castiel chimed in. He didn’t even hide how his eyes fell hungrily to Dean’s lips.

Benny filled his water glass again after having drained it once already, “Well, I’m off to find Christina and hang out with her for the rest of the night. Sam you coming?”

Sam finished toweling off and slipped on a crisp white shirt. “Yea.” He grinned at Dean as he buttoned up. “Jess is waiting.” Before he joined Benny at the door however, Sam stopped right in front of Dean.

The brothers shared a big knowing smile with each other before Dean said, “Couldn’t have done this without you Sammy.”

Sam’s reply was to scoop Dean into a fierce hug, and Dean nearly crushed Sam in return. They clapped their hands on each others shoulder once, and then pulled apart. With a nod and smile, Sam was out the door with Benny.

Gabriel straightened his tux jacket and then his tie. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled an envelope out. He turned halfway towards Castiel and thrust it in Cas’ direction.

“What’s this?” Castiel hesitantly pulled the envelope out of Gabriel’s fingers. Gabriel said nothing, but began to look annoyingly smug. Castiel frowned and opened the envelope. He sifted through its contents and his frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”

Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes, “For a start I booked one of the suites at the InterContinental Hotel for the two of you. There is a car that will take you there when you both are ready to leave tonight….”

Dean grinned big and had started to open his mouth to thank Gabriel when Cas cut him off with a concerned glance, “Yes I understand that…. what are these other papers in here?”

“Oh that.” Gabriel shrugged casually, as if it were nothing. “I bought out Angeleus Records and merged it with Free Will Records. And those are your stock holdings… you own a third of the record company now with Christina and myself.”

“What?!” Dean’s mouth dropped open.

“You thought Lucifer and Michael were the only Garrisons with eyes on consolidating the two companies?” Gabriel smirked, “While those two chuckle heads were busy trying to do it illegally, I had my people working on it through the proper channels. Raphael and Uriel sold me their stock this morning after Michael’s arrest last night.”

Gabriel stepped to the open door, “Piece of cake.” And with a bright smile on his face he disappeared down the hallway.

Brow furrowed by the enormity of what he held in his hands, Castiel fumbled with the papers trying to shove them back into the envelope. Gently Dean came up and carefully extracted the pages from Castiel’s fingers. Then Dean folded them up and tucked them safely into the back of his pants. Once his hands were free he gingerly clasped Castiel’s face and brought the other man to look at him.

“Cas…this is good. This is okay.” Dean hushed a light kiss to Castiel’s cheek, and then to the edge of Cas’ mouth.

“But what if I don’t want to run a record company Dean?” The concern in Castiel’s tone broke the timber of his voice a little.

“Then don’t. Let Jess and Christina do it.” Dean said simply and continued peppering soft kisses across Castiel’s sweat sticky brow, his chin, his nose. “I bet there’s a hot tub in that hotel suite….” Dean purred.

Cas let Dean draw his body very close, that heat from earlier still simmering under Castiel’s skin, their time onstage only adding to it. It had ebbed a little with Gabriel’s news but now under Dean’s touches it was burning hotter, slow and sure.

“I bet I have lube tucked in the side pocket of my bass guitar case….” Castiel’s voice broke a little as his stomach quivered with anticipation.

“The cinnamon stuff?” Dean’s hips hitched in a half roll against Castiel.

“Of course…..” Castiel sighed.

Dean grinned, “My fave. Smells like pie…”

Soon they were packed up and out of the club, climbing into the limo Gabriel had waiting for them. As they pulled away from the curb with the city of Chicago’s lights gleaming brightly around them, Dean tucked Castiel’s hand into his tightly.

Dean leaned into Castiel, pressing a heated kiss to the other man’s lips.

As much as he wanted to win the battle of the bands, Sam had been right. No matter what the outcome of the contest, they had come out winners.

 

 

**(to be continued)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Links to the songs played in this chapter:
> 
> Saga - On The Loose  
> http://the-mark-of-frankencaine.tumblr.com/post/86967371548/ill-be-standing-here-beside-myself-getting-ready
> 
> Queen - Hammer to Fall  
> http://the-mark-of-frankencaine.tumblr.com/tagged/hammer%20to%20fall
> 
> The Cult - Wildflower  
> http://the-mark-of-frankencaine.tumblr.com/tagged/wildflower
> 
> Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' Bout Love  
> http://the-mark-of-frankencaine.tumblr.com/post/94136859673/mnemonic-amnesia-van-halen-aint-talkin


	25. EPILOGUE

 

 

 

 **One Year Later…..**  
**October 2015 - Lawrence, Kansas**

 

Jo Harvelle leaned back in the chair she was sitting in and crossed her legs. She was wearing a Free Will Records shirt and faded jeans, but barefoot and let one foot’s toes wiggle a little with nervous anticipation. In one hand she had a small pad of paper full of scribbled notes while the other hand was up near her face. Her pinky finger was toying lightly at her bottom lip.

Her eyes were level currently with her cameraman, Ash as she watched him hunched over behind the video camera that was set up. He was looking through the viewfinder and adjusting it on its tripod. He made sure it was pointing it at her and that the focus was where he knew Jo wanted it.

After a moment, he then stepped back to sit at a nearby table where there was a laptop set up. The video camera cords were plugged into the side of the laptop allowing Ash to control it remotely. He picked up one ear bud and wriggled it into one ear, plugging its jack into the side of the laptop as well. He typed something, then hit a button and pointed one finger at Jo without looking at her or making any sound.

She let loose a brilliant smile then and addressed the camera, “Hello fellow music hunters! Welcome back to another installment of Harvelle’s Hunts. Got some good stuff for you today like a teaser clip of the new release from Free Will Records’ Alphie Samandriel that is sweeping over Berlin and Ibiza…. But before we whisk off to hear what is haunting the Euro dance scene, I want to talk about good old fashioned Rock and Roll!” She scrunched up her nose in an excited way and winked at the camera. “I’ve got special guests with me this week, also from Free Will Records… Three members of the hard, hot and saucy rock band… Slaughter House Four!”

And with that she sat up, leaning across the space to reach the video camera. She turned it to capture herself in her seat, as well as the other three chairs to her left. Sam was sitting directly next to her, Dean next to him, and Castiel next to Dean. The small cluster of cushioned chairs were in Jo’s garage studio where she shot her music video blog. The walls behind them were thick with music posters from different eras and genres, and there were shaggy pile rugs under their feet.

“You guys look great! Thanks for stopping by today and talking with us….” She smiled again, focusing now on the three men next to her instead of the camera.

Sam returned her smile a little nervously at first but then relaxed back into his chair. He was wearing dark jeans, a sweater vest and a casual blazer over that. “Thanks for having on your v-blog show Jo.”

“So I’ve got some stuff I want to go over with you guys…..” Jo wiggled her notepad a little and Dean made a sharp retort of a laugh.

“I bet you do!” Dean grinned, then he looked right into the camera. He too was in jeans, but he was just wearing a Led Zeppelin shirt, “You guys don’t know this but Sam and I have known Jo since we were in high school…”

“Hey now Winchester…. No one wants to hear about that…” Jo rolled her eyes.

“Oh I do….” Castiel spoke up and looked at Jo, “I would very much like to hear all about Sam and Dean in high school…” He threw her a conspiratorial smile but remained sitting straight and dapper in the black suit he was wearing.

Jo laughed out loud, “That sounds like a follow up show. But for today let’s stick with a few questions from me, and then we’ll take some live from our Internet viewers.”

Dean shrugged and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Sam grinned; dimples bright on his cheeks while Castiel relaxed a fraction in his seat.

“So it’s been a year since Slaughter House Four entered the Free Will Records Battle of the Bands, and I know it was a rough journey for you guys. The Rolling Stone magazine piece that Charley Bradbury did– going into depth about the shooting of Rufus Turner, your former bassist…. about the sabotage attempted by the Garrison brothers Michael and Lucifer… and the attempt on your life Dean…. The um, article in Rolling Stone was pretty in-depth and I’m sure all your fans have read it. Do you guys have anything to say about what you went through now that some time has past?”

Sam straightened in his seat, “As you and most of America know, the Garrison brothers trial was pretty high profile a few weeks ago…. And Michael and Lucifer received the justice they deserved.”

“Pretty hefty prison sentences.” Jo commented.

“Yea…” Sam glanced at Dean then looked back at Jo, “At this point I think we would all like to move beyond it all and just focus on healing and moving forward.” Next to him, Dean nodded and Castiel looked down to where his hands were resting in his lap.

“I heard as part of your therapy, you three wrote the single ‘My Brother’s Pain’ and the lyrics… while they don’t address Michael and Lucifer by name… seem like you were trying to work through the issues of betrayal and deceit.” Jo lifted one brow and carefully looked at the three of them.

Castiel cleared his throat and looked at Jo steadily, “I believe the song speaks for itself. But yes, you are correct in that assessment. And as you know, the lyrics and the tone encompass the themes of having a brother’s love, support and forgiveness as well.” Castiel let his eyes slip to Sam and then Dean before he returned his gaze to Jo.

Jo smiled big and sweet, “Yep. I’m pretty sure those were the reasons it shot into the top of the charts after it was released back in the spring.” She glanced down to her notes and then looked up again, “Speaking of brothers, where is Benny Lafitte? When we set up this interview, you said he would be joining us.”

Sam and Dean swapped a look while their grins got bigger. Dean bit his lip once, quickly, before answering Jo. “Benny’s on his honeymoon right now.”

Genuinely surprised, Jo made a small gasping sound, “What?! You guys didn’t tell me?! When?!”

Sam reached over and lightly touched Jo’s arm with his fingers, “We didn’t know until last night. They didn’t tell anyone, they just eloped. We’ve been so busy with the tour coming up and the new album recording… they just went to the court house and then snuck off for the weekend.”

Dean chuckled, “Didn’t even get in a bachelor party, how’s that for fair?!”

Castiel gave Dean a quick rough nudge with his knee, “I’m sure after the album is finished there will be plenty of time for proper celebrations.”

“Yes, let’s talk about that… the new album you are recording…. how is it coming?” Jo brightened.

Dean leaned back, stretching a little with a satisfied smirk, “Not bad. We have six tracks down. The material is all written and we’ve done a lot of rehearsing. It’s just tweaking things here and there…and….”

“…. working with the sound levels…. We have had some days where nothing seems to really work and we have to ditch it all….” Sam continued.

“But then there are moments when we are all in the studio and everything just clicks so great…..” Dean picked up.

“Or we have some serendipitous happenstance and mistakes turn out to reveal some brilliant sections that were totally unplanned….” Castiel gave a small smile as he looked at Sam and Dean, fully in sync with them.

“God those moments are amazing!” Sam exclaimed, “And we’ve had quite a few of them too.”

Dean nodded, “I think our fans will really be pleased when it’s released.”

“Excellent.” Jo returned their smiles, “So are you ready to hear from some of those fans now?”

Sam chuckled, “Yea sure sure…”

Ash passed Jo a small bit of paper with questions written on it. Jo skimmed over them and a big mischievous grin came over her face, her brown eyes beginning to glitter. “I love these…. So _tricksterangel24_ asks ‘so what’s it like being signed to Free Will Records?’”

Sam let out a light laugh, “Free Will is amazing. It’s like a dream come true. We have total control over our music in the studio, we have a say in how it’s released and if we want, we can become board members and have a bigger say in running the company as well. Forbes listed it as one of the top twenty American owned companies for 2015 so….” He smiled wide and opened his hands in a gesture that said he didn’t need to go on.

“Okay then….” Jo nodded, “Next question…. From _BeckyLovesSam_ on twitter….. ‘There was a rumor that Sam had a thing with Ruby, the former lead guitarist for Perdition… is that true?”

Sam shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat a moment much to Dean’s obvious glee.

Sam cleared his throat and looked back at Jo again, “Um. Yea. We met before the start of the competition but broke up before the final Battle at Valhalla in Chicago. We parted friends and she still keeps in touch.”

“That was left out of Charley Bradbury’s article in Rolling Stone….” Jo raised her brows. “Even though it was because of Ruby that you were able to save Dean’s life…”

“Yea well….” Sam gave a small shrug. “She got a lot of criticism for her involvement with us and I just felt that our relationship was something that didn’t need to get paraded into the public eye. So I asked Charley to omit it…. and she did.”

“Speaking of relationships in the public eye….” Jo turned her gaze full on Dean and Castiel now before glancing down to her paper, “The rest of these questions are all about Dean and Cas, and their sexy antics on stage and elsewhere…. _castiels-torn-trenchcoat_ on tumblr is asking about the show in Los Angeles in June at the famous Whiskey A Go Go… where it’s rumored that Castiel put his hands down Dean’s pants while you were all still on stage performing, and that Cas jerked Dean off during his guitar solo…..”

Dean scoffed, “That’s a rumor… come on… I’m good but there is no way I’d be able to pull off a decent solo riff while getting jacked off…”

“And _smokeyangelfeathers_ is asking about the photo that ran on TMZ where Dean and Cas were caught literally with their pants down in the men’s room of a Seattle club before a show….” Jo pressed on.

“My pants were pulled up.” Castiel said matter of factly. Dean simply colored a deep shade of red.

“…. _waitingonmyangel_ wants to know if the deep masculine moans and groans on the song ‘Fangs and Kisses’ is Dean, or Cas….” Jo kept going.

“Those are Benny’s…” Dean blurted out. Simultaneously both Sam and Cas glared at Dean, though Sam went ahead and gave Dean a sharp swat on his arm. Dean shot back with a “What?!”

“and _thegodhunters_ on tumblr asks if the band would ever consider doing a nude photo shoot….” Jo once again raised her brows.

The three answered at once with “No way!” “Yea sure sounds fun…” and “I’d be amendable to that.”

Jo shifted in her seat and leaned in closer, spearing Dean and Castiel with a no-nonsense look. “So come on guys… are you both together or what? Is this real steam we are seeing on stage or is it just made up for the show?”

Dean looked side long at Cas and lifted his brows while biting his lip. Castiel gave Dean a slow careful look, then glanced to where Dean’s teeth dug into the supple flesh of his mouth. Cas couldn’t hide the heat that flared in his gaze before returning to meet Dean’s stare.

“Oh for godssake….” Sam groaned with exasperation, looking at his brother and Cas before rolling his eyes and turning to Jo, “They’re a thing. A real thing. And it’s obscene, utterly annoying and gross. I force them to get their own room when we are on the road.”

“Hey!” Dean whipped his head around to frown at Sam.

“Well it is true Dean, we were particularly obscene the other night in the back of your car when we pulled over on the side of the road and I leaned over to su….” Castiel’s rambling was halted by Dean’s hand being firmly clamped over Cas’ mouth.

“Whoa!” Jo laughed, “Okay then!” Eyes wide, with a big surprised smile, Jo returned to face the camera while fanning herself with her notes, “We’re gonna take a break here and I’ll be back with part two of today’s video-blog with our focus on the Euro dance scene and my top five must have MP3 downloads of the week…. Stay tuned hunters!”

“And we’re out.” Ash called out, still working on his laptop, processing the connection and fielding comments on their web connections.

Jo set down her notes, still giggling a little, her cheeks rosy. “Oh man, that was amazing. Your fans are going to be talking about that reveal for months. Thanks for giving me the scoop of the year!”

“What…” Dean made a face and shrugged, “They knew ‘bout me an’ Cas”

“They suspected Dean. Now it’s confirmed.” Jo smirked.

Dean groaned, “Is this bad? Did I just ruin everything?”

Jo smiled, and it was gentle and wise in the same way her mother would smile. “No Dean, it’s fine. You and Cas….and Sam and Benny… the whole band… You just keep doing what you are doing. Your fans love you, love your music…. We love you so much. Everything is going to be just fine.”

Dean gave a small nod, then placed one hand on Sam’s shoulder. Without looking back, he reached for Castiel and they linked hands, fingers weaving together tight.

Dean squeezed Sam’s shoulder and took in a deep breath. They had come so far, fulfilled John’s dreams while being true to their own. “I think… Mom and Dad would be proud of us.”

Sam placed one hand over Dean’s and returned the squeeze. “I think so too Dean.”

Dean gave another nod as a sweet smile came over his face. “Yea. Everything is gonna be just fine.”

 

 

 

**~FIN~**

 

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ginormous thanks you's and my eternal humble gratitude for those lovely few who are still reading after all this long time. I began this fic over a year ago as a gift to my wonderful friend, and then as life does, things happened and it disrupted the flow and energy I had to write. Part of it was because my friend, my Muse, had her life take her on another path (which happens, and there is no animosity there at all) and she was no longer there to cheer me on and boost me with her energy. Part of it was also my prolonged unemployment that suddenly evaporated into the best job I've ever had. With the new awesome job came a different life vibe and a more demanding schedule away from writing. I am genuinely heartbroken and torn up that this fic suffered the way it did because of all this.
> 
> You dear readers, you amazing gentle few who still follow this and who have continued to press the kudos button... I am indebted to you like WHOA.
> 
> Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Supernatural and its original characters and themes are the property of The CW Network etc.


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